PROTECT Documents

PROTECT Guide

This new version of the PROTECT Guide aims to:

  1. Support the new legislation from IMO and EU pertaining to vessel security when vessels berth or transit through a port. The Guide contains the new message BERMAN.
  2. Support the new legislation from the EU pertaining to port reception facilities for ship-generate waste, cargo residues and sewage. The Guide contains the new message WASDIS.
  3. Take into account the evolving business requirements since the previous version of this Guide, in the areas of vessel monitoring and port handling activities with respect to dangerous goods and polluting and noxious substances). The Guide contains an update of the IFTDGN message.
  4. Support the possibilities for appropriate replies to these messages. The Guide contains an update of the APERAK message.

In the global context of vessel reporting the new PROTECT Guide further aims to:

  1. Present an up-to-date harmonised user guide to the world-wide shipping industry for these messages based on the available international UN/EDIFACT standards for Directories and aligned with the General Recommendations and with the Principles and Rules for the implementation of the IFTDGN and APERAK, as published by ITIGG (International Transport Messages Implementation Guidelines Group) after consultation with PROTECT.
  2. Fulfil the wish of IMO’s Facilitation Committee to enable global use of these messages based on common implementation guides in line with IMO standards and agreements.

A Harmonised user Guide – no local specifics for a port?

The PROTECT Group does not yet foresee local specifics for implementation of the BERMAN and WASDIS messages at the moment of publication of this version 2.0.

For the IFTDGN there may be differences in implementation, but all within the agreed IFTDGN message specification.

All Port Authorities participating in PROTECT agreed to derive their local IFTDGN Implementation Guides (Annexes) from the PROTECT EDIFACT Implementation Guide applying the following rule: data not required (or treated) locally in a port, may be sent as long as it is according to this PROTECT EDIFACT Implementation Guide.

For APERAK there may also be some variation within the agreed specification.

A document has been prepared aiming at providing an overview of all information required in the PROTECT ports to notify dangerous goods using PROTECT IFTDGN message and what can be expected as a reply in the PROTECT APERAK message.

This document, for short called ‘The Matrix’ provides an overview of the Mandatories and Conditionals for the PROTECT ports. The overview will be published in Adobe pdf format in July 2005.

By creating this matrix the PROTECT Ports have avoided the need for so-called ‘Local Annexes’ to the PROTECT Guide, which were needed for previous versions.

World-wide recognised. By whom?

As for the previous version of the PROTECT Guide recognition will be sought from international organisations such as IMO/IMO and UN/CEFACT TBG3/ITIGG. The previous version got recognition from these bodies:

  • The IMO/FAL (Trade Facilitation Committee of the International Maritime Organization) has recommended the PROTECT IFTDGN message as the EDI equivalent of the IMO FAL Form 7 (Dangerous Goods Declaration). This message can also be used for Dangerous Goods List or Manifest, to be known as FAL Form 8.
  • The PROTECT Guide is also endorsed by the UN/EDIFACT standardisation bodies TBG3/ITIGG (Trade and Business Processes Group 3 for Transport, subgroup International Transport Message Implementation Guidelines Group).

More details about the context and the development of the new Guide can be found in the ‘Part 1 General’ chapters 1, 2, and 3.


PROTECT GUIDE 1.1 (Jan.2001)

The PROTECT Guide version 1.1 consists of the following 3 Parts:

  • Part I PROTECT Dangerous Goods Message Scenario – General Part – January 1999, version 1.0
  • Part II Dangerous Goods Notification message IFTDGN, – December 2002, version 1.1,
  • Part III Acknowledgement message APERAK, – January 1999, version 1.0.
  • Part IV Waste Disposal Information Message WASDIS, – December 2002, version 1.0

Download: PROTECT1.1GuideJanuary2001

PROTECT GUIDE 2.0 (Mar.2005)

The PROTECT Guide version 2.0 consists of the following 6 Parts:

  • Part I PROTECT Message Scenario version 2.0 – General Part – March 17, 2005 and the EDIFACT Message Implementation Guides:
  • Part II Dangerous Goods Notification message – IFTDGN version 2.0 – March 17, 2005
  • Part III Bayplan Application error and acknowledgement message – APERAK version 2.0 – March 17, 2005
  • Part IV Waste disposal information message – WASDIS version 2.0 March 17, 2005
  • Part V Berth services request message – BERMAN version 2.0 – March 17, 2005
  • Part VI EDIFACT Message envelope segment recommendations version 2.0 – March 17, 2005.

Download: PROTECT2.0GuideMarch2005pdfdocs

IFTDGN version 2.2 (Draft version for review)

For the IFTDGN message, a new MIG is drafted to include several updates, among which the latest requirements by MARPOL and EMSA. Note: This is a draft version; it will become final once underlying changes to the UN/CEFACT IFTDGN-message will have been adopted. A UN/CEFACT project is currently running to accomplish this. From this project, PR202009-DMRs have been submitted to UNECE.

This 2.2 release of IFTDGN includes several updates including the following corrigenda: IFTDGN Corrigendum-2009, IFTDGN Corrigendum-2011, IFTDGN Corrigendum-2015-04 which were already distributed in the IFTDGN-Document-Draft-217 and also included changes due to Protect-changes-due-to-hazmat-guidelines. It is also brought in line with UN/EDIFACT D.22B.

Further changes to this draft 2.2 version are made visible in the following download: PROTECT IFTDGN_2.2_DRAFT. In case you have any remarks or suggestions, please contact IPCSA Secretary General: nico.decauwer@ipcsa.international

BERMAN XML

The XML specifications of the BERMAN message: BERMANDEC11