Joint meetings of the Councils of European River Information Services and Central and East European Reporting Information System
EuRIS – CEERIS

Electronic reporting enables the electronic exchange of data for reporting purposes between ships and competent authorities in inland navigation. Its purpose is to avoid multiple reporting by shipmasters to the competent authorities and to limit the provision of the same data relating to a voyage to different authorities and/or trading parties and thus to reduce the administrative workload for shipmasters and inland waterway managers.

For shipmasters and logistics partners, up-to-date information is indispensable for good route and voyage planning. Access to static and dynamic information that provides real-time, 24/7 insight into the situation on waterways is extremely important. Therefore, in recent years, a partnership of 13 European countries has created a completely new online environment to provide this: EuRIS – European River Information Services. It can now be accessed from the www.eurisportal.eu platform, which helps inland waterway users to plan their journey and arrival times across Europe through an easy-to-use portal.

Prior to its establishment, shipmasters were required to consult numerous websites and information sources to retrieve all relevant information, particularly when the voyage was cross-border. EuRIS currently offers, in one place, the relevant information on all inland waterways and traffic, combining the data transmitted by the 13 countries on a single platform.

Seafarers and shipmasters and other users can collect real-time information at any time and gain insight into the actual traffic situation on their shipping route, waiting times, incidents or unpredictable situations affecting travel time. This is currently provided in a protected environment so that the privacy of all users is guaranteed.

The EURIS platform covers the largest interconnected network of inland waterways in Europe. This includes the 7 main corridors (Rhine, Danube, Elbe, Moselle, Dunkirk – Scheldt, Amsterdam – Antwerp – Liège, Amsterdam – Antwerp – Brussels) and many others. The current partnership consists of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. The cooperation resulted in this jointly designed cross-border system, which is unique in its scope and high value-added services. These countries will continue this partnership in the coming years to further develop the platform according to user needs and requirements.

International standards and procedures for the exchange of electronic messages are in place. Public authorities and other parties involved (shipowners, shipmasters, shippers, terminals, ports) will exchange data in accordance with these standards and rules.

Electronic reporting is accepted in many countries, until recently mainly to support traffic management. EuRIS now allows the orderly sharing of information with both public and private parties (always with the consent of the ship owner).

CEERIS covers most of the Czech Danube and Elbe, enabling electronic reporting in partner countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.