Article 3 Definitions

‘river information services (RIS)’ means the harmonised information services to support traffic and transport management in inland navigation, including, wherever technically feasible, interfaces with other transport modes. RIS do not deal with internal commercial activities between one or more of the involved companies, but are open for interfacing with commercial activities. RIS comprise services such as fairway information, traffic information, traffic management, calamity abatement support, information for transport management, statistics and customs services and waterway charges and port dues;

‘fairway information’ means geographical, hydrological, and administrative information regarding the waterway (fairway). Fairway Information is one-way information: shore to ship or shore to office;

‘tactical traffic information’ means the information affecting immediate navigation decisions in the actual traffic situation and the close geographic surroundings;

‘strategic traffic information’ means the information affecting the medium and long-term decisions of RIS users;

‘RIS application’ means the provision of river information services through dedicated systems;

‘RIS centre’, means the place where the services are managed by operators;

‘RIS users’ means all different user groups including boat masters, RIS operators, lock and/or bridge operators, waterway authorities, port and terminal operators, operators in calamity centres of emergency services, fleet managers, cargo shippers and freight brokers;

‘interoperability’ means that services, data contents, data exchange formats and frequencies are harmonised in such a way that RIS users have access to the same services and information on a European level;

‘trans-European transport network’ or ‘TEN-T’ means inland waterways as specified in the maps set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2024/1679;

‘European Reference Data Management System’ or ‘ERDMS’ means a single point of access repository (library) of reference data and code lists that are used by IT applications in inland waterway transport operated under the authority of the Commission; it does not include the network data provided by the Member State in accordance with Annexes I and III;

‘port community system’ means an electronic platform for the exchange of information between public and private stakeholders to ensure smooth port and logistics processes;

‘smart inland waterway infrastructure system’ means an electronic platform that supports semi- and fully automated management of inland waterway transport infrastructure in locks and movable bridges in the TEN-T and is operated by the public management authorities of inland waterways;

‘European RIS Environment’ means an electronic single-point-of-access platform based on national RIS information that provides technical and operational services for RIS users and contains links to electronic reporting according to the ‘once-only’ principle;

‘inland port’ means an inland waterway port of the TEN-T core network or TEN-T comprehensive network, as listed and categorised in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2024/1679.