Fintraffic’s application D/S POLO is already in use in more than thirty ports. A user survey shows that users find the service to be useful for their organisations, especially in providing a situational picture of schedules. The application received an overall score of 4/5 in the survey. This year, completely new features will be launched in the app related to vessel notifications, winter navigation and more.
Hundreds use the D/S POLO tool on a daily basis, utilising its real-time and targeted information for the growing needs of the port and its partners. The user survey carried out in winter 2025 reveals that application users make extensive use of D/S POLO in e.g. forming situational pictures of schedules, ordering pilots and other services as well as berth planning.
‘The overall score for D/S POLO was excellent at 4/5, something we can be proud of. In particular, users were satisfied that schedule services were centralised in one place. This is a good starting point to continue developing the service so that it will continue to serve the needs of ports even more seamlessly in the future,’ says Petri Kalske, Head of Maritime Solutions at Fintraffic’s Vessel Traffic Services.
The open responses highlighted the future potential of the application as an easy-to-use tool for port operators and the encouragement for other users to update information on the application at a low threshold. For example, the new feature that enables the sharing of vessel departure and arrival times between different ports and other operators was considered significant. In fact, the overall score given for cooperation within the application was a little above 4/5.
Fintraffic’s D/S POLO is built on an Open Ecosystem basis, which enables ports to develop and use the service according to their own needs. In addition to improved information sharing and communication, POLO offers real-time arrival and departure times of ships, berth and resource planning, vessel notifications in the EU, invoicing, emission calculations, tug and pilot requests, mooring/unmooring orders, and water and waste management orders. The service can help to both improve the efficiency of port operations and to strengthen sustainable development.
New features to vessel notifications and up-to-date winter navigation data
The planning and scheduling of vessel traffic are often challenging in winter conditions, as uncertainty about the ice situation hampers the operation of the entire chain. To solve this issue, up-to-date information on icebreakers was added to D/S POLO this winter. In the future, icebreakers should also be provided with better information on ports.
‘The aim is to soon provide icebreakers with more accurate and up-to-date situational information directly from ports. This improved exchange of information can make winter navigation more efficient, which in turn will save costs and reduce emissions. At the same time, we can provide ports and the entire logistics chain with more comprehensive and easily accessible information on icebreaking,’ says Petri Kalske on the importance of the situational picture to winter navigation.
In connection with the introduction of the national maritime information management system NEMO in early 2026, it will also become possible to submit vessel notifications through D/S POLO. The aim is to enable submitting vessel notifications both in Finland as well as throughout the EU, as Member States are compatible with vessel notifications under the EMSW Regulation (European Maritime Single Window).
‘This feature will enable vessels to submit vessel notifications related to port calls via D/S POLO both to Finland and to the whole EU. We wanted notifications to be submitted through a familiar tool that many port operators are already widely using,’ Kalske continues.
Development on D/S POLO is part of Fintraffic’s maritime traffic management ecosystem work which promotes the exchange of data between shipping and its logistics chains and the construction of situational pictures through close cooperation between maritime actors and new digital solutions. All ports and other maritime and logistics actors are welcome to participate in the system, which operates as a SaaS service. The system enabling digitalisation and communication is based on an open ecosystem and open interfaces, which strengthens cooperation both within the port community and between ports. D/S POLO is already in use at more than 30 ports and has about 1,500 registered users from over 200 organisations.
