Indra to modernise Port of Bilbao’s digital platform for EU maritime and customs rules
The Spanish technology company will develop a cloud-based platform for the port community as European regulations standardise maritime reporting and electronic customs procedures. The project’s value and commissioning date have not been disclosed.
The Bilbao Port Authority has selected Indra to design, deploy and develop its new Port Community System (PCS). Announced on 2 September, the project includes cybersecurity and data-protection measures for exchanging operational information.
The initiative builds on an existing digital infrastructure. Bilbao already operates e-puertobilbao, a platform used by shipping agents, carriers, freight forwarders, customs brokers, terminals and inland transport operators. Its services cover vessel arrivals and departures, dangerous-goods notifications, container inspections and access procedures.
The distinction matters: the port is not moving directly from paper-based administration to digital services. It is updating the systems through which companies already coordinate cargo movements and communicate with public authorities.
The regulatory backdrop is the European Maritime Single Window environment (EMSWe), applicable since 15 August 2025. It harmonises reporting for port calls through a network of national maritime single windows using common specifications, rather than a single central European portal.
Its once-only principle seeks to ensure that information is submitted once per port call and reused by the relevant authorities, reducing repeated requests.
Customs requirements form a related but distinct part of the transition. The Union Customs Code provides the framework for customs procedures and the shift towards electronic exchanges, including declarations, notifications and decisions. Compliance therefore involves how information is structured and transmitted, not simply replacing a printed form with a digital document.
For businesses using a port, these distinctions have practical consequences. A shipping agent, a terminal and a road haulier may need different information about the same shipment. Their systems must exchange the relevant data without requiring each participant to reconstruct the administrative history of the cargo.
Bilbao’s scale makes that coordination significant. The port handled just over 32 million tonnes in 2025, a 6.8% decline from the previous year. The port authority attributed part of that reduction to the technical shutdown of the Petronor refinery between May and July.
Digital coordination is particularly relevant to container traffic and short-sea shipping, where the port authority’s existing strategy emphasises the need for speed and cooperation between operators. The commercial objective is to connect administrative readiness with the physical movement of vessels and goods.
Indra’s port business also extends to Latin America. In January 2025, the company announced a cloud-based PCS project at San Antonio in Chile, designed to bring logistics information and operational procedures into a shared environment.
Its regional references also include Valparaíso, systems supporting customs access at Montevideo, and information-management work for the Panama Maritime Authority. Those projects provide a background to its role in Bilbao, although their operating conditions and regulatory requirements are not interchangeable.
The announcement does not provide quantified targets for savings or processing-time reductions. Those benefits should therefore be treated as objectives to assess after implementation, rather than results already achieved.
For Bilbao, the business case will ultimately depend on whether the upgrade reduces duplicated work, keeps information consistent across organisations and preserves continuity during the transition. Regulatory compliance is the starting point; the operational test will be whether companies can move cargo with fewer administrative interruptions.
