Port calls

A port call is one vessel's visit to one port. It is the record everything else hangs from — the plan, the services, the cargo, any incident.

Registering a call

A call needs a vessel, a port and a call number. Expected times, the previous and next port, and the first location the vessel will occupy can be added when they are known and changed as they firm up.

If the vessel is not already on file, add it first under Vessels. Vessels are kept separately from calls because the same ship returns: its IMO number, type and flag should be recorded once, not re-typed every visit.

Statuses

A call carries a visit status, which is about the call as a piece of paperwork:

• Planned — expected, not yet agreed. Nothing operational can be recorded against it.
• Approved — cleared to proceed. Moves may start, checks may be ticked.
• Cancelled — the visit is not happening.
• Closed — the visit is over and the record is settled.

The distinction between planned and approved is deliberate. Checks and requirements on a planned call are inert: you cannot tick your way through preparations for a visit nobody has agreed to yet.

A call also carries a voyage status describing where the vessel actually is — inbound, berthed, anchored, shifting, outbound and so on. That one follows the vessel; the visit status follows the decision.

Closing a call

A call can be closed once its plan is complete. Closing settles the record: it stops accepting operational changes, so the account of what happened cannot drift after the fact.