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Octo and the maritime single window

Report once, reuse every time.

Under the IMO FAL Convention, electronic data exchange has been mandatory since April 2019, and the single window has been mandatory in all ports since January 2024. The IMO's idea is that each piece of information is sent once and reused as much as possible. In Brazil, Porto sem Papel was developed to cut red tape in ship port-call procedures. Octo can help your company organize the data so that each item is entered once.

The port call data, the declarations and the IMO Compendium go into Octo, which returns a single data set and the field map. INPUT PORT CALL DATA DECLARATIONS IMO COMPENDIUM SINGLE DATA SET ONE ITEM, ONCE MAP FIELD MAP item reported once → reused OCTO × PORTS SINGLE WINDOW GP-05
Electronic exchange04/2019mandatory under the FAL Convention
Single window01/2024mandatory in all ports
FAL 5003/2026digitalization strategy approved
Sources3listed at the end of the page
01

What Octo does for the single window.

Four possible deliverables. Your team reports to the authorities, through the official channel.

Single port call data set

Can build a data set with the items that repeat across the port call declarations, so that each piece of information is entered once and reused, as the IMO proposes.

Deliverable: single data set with the origin of each item

Cross-check between declarations

Can check whether the same item appears identically in every declaration and list the differences before submission.

Deliverable: list of discrepancies

Field map

Can link the fields in your company's system to the data sets of the IMO Compendium, which supports the harmonization of single windows.

Deliverable: field map for review

IMO monitoring

Can follow IMO publications on facilitation and digitalization and summarize for the team what changes, with the document cited.

Deliverable: summary with the reference
02

Eight arms, one data item at a time.

The same Octo cycle, applied to this topic. Each arm has a narrow role; the people who approve and sign are on your team.

  1. Discovery

    Lists the declarations

    Which declarations the port call requires of your company and where each one is filed today.

  2. Data

    Finds the repeated item

    Each item that appears in more than one declaration becomes a row in the single data set.

  3. Security

    Respects port call data

    Crew, passenger and cargo data are sensitive. Octo works only in the approved environment.

  4. Architecture

    Chooses the reference

    The IMO Compendium as a common dictionary, linked to the fields in the company's system.

  5. Development

    Builds the database

    Single data set, field map and cross-checking between declarations.

  6. Review

    Checks against a known port call

    Compares with a port call the team has already declared.

  7. Release

    Delivers with your OK

    The data set only goes into use with your approval.

  8. Documentation

    Records the version

    Which version of the Compendium and the guidelines was used.

Octo does not submit declarations on behalf of your company. Your team reports to the authorities, through the official channel.

03

Each topic, its reference.

The IMO references on facilitation and the single window. The IMO text remains the reference.

TopicIMO referenceWhat it says
Electronic data exchangeFAL ConventionMandatory since April 2019
Single windowFAL ConventionMandatory in all ports since January 2024
Setting up a single windowFAL.5/Circ.42/Rev.4Guidelines for the maritime single window
Harmonizing the dataIMO CompendiumSupports the harmonization of single windows and port call optimization
DigitalizationIMO strategy approved at FAL 50March 2026
04

From request to routine.

Three steps. Each one only makes sense once the previous one has shown results on your team.

A proposal, not a promise

1 Today

Map of what repeats

Octo lists the items your team enters more than once per port call.

  • List of declarations
  • Items repeated across them
Benefit: the team sees where it loses time
2 Next

Single data set

The repeated items now come from a single data set.

  • Single data set with the origin
  • Cross-check between declarations
Benefit: one item, entered once
3 Later

Harmonized fields

The fields in the company's system are linked to the IMO Compendium.

  • Reviewed field map
  • Monitoring of IMO changes
Benefit: exchanging data with other systems gets simpler
05

Confirmed by source.

Each point below has a source published by the agency responsible for the standard or the system, or by the IMO. The sources are in the next section.

5

points with a published source, each with its reference alongside.

ConfirmedMandatory requirement
Under the FAL Convention, electronic data exchange has been mandatory since April 2019 and, from January 2024, the single window is mandatory in all ports.Source: IMO, FAL Convention
ConfirmedReport once
In the maritime single window, information is sent only once and reused as much as possible.Source: IMO, Maritime Single Window
ConfirmedGuidelines
The IMO publishes the guidelines for setting up a maritime single window in document FAL.5/Circ.42/Rev.4.Source: IMO, Maritime Single Window
ConfirmedDigitalization
FAL 50, in March 2026, approved the IMO Strategy on Maritime Digitalization.Source: IMO, Maritime Single Window
ConfirmedIMO Compendium
The IMO Compendium supports the harmonization of maritime single windows (MSW) and the optimization of the port call.Source: IMO, IMO Compendium
06

What Octo does and what stays with you.

Octo prepares everything, but does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.

Octo prepares

Gathers, calculates, organizes and produces the documents: spreadsheets, reports, dashboards and drafts.

Deliverable: material ready for review

Your team reviews

The licensed professional reviews what Octo delivered before signing. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.

Step: review by whoever signs

Who signs

Octo does not sign. Designs, technical reports, ART/RRT, accountability reports and any official document are still signed by the licensed professional at the company or agency: here, the professional of record and the port authority.

Signature: professional of record and port authority
07

Sources.

IMO pages on facilitation. Accessed October 28, 2026.

How many times does your team enter the same data?

The assessment starts with the declarations your team already files, without changing anything. You get a proposal for what can be reused and decide with it in hand.