The Port of Trieste has the special status of International Free Port, meaning that its Free Zones (FZ) enjoy the legal status of customs clearance exemption and do not belong to the customs territory of the European Union. This implies a whole series of beneficial operating conditions.

The International Free Port of Trieste is segmented in three major areas and several minor ones, some of which are located in the close hinterland of the port in correspondence of logistics facilities connected via road and rail to the port terminals. For goods to move from one FZ area to another, crossing the European Union customs territory cannot be avoided.

The pilot action of the Port of Trieste aims at improving its IT platform (the Sinfomar Port Community System) by adding a specific functionality to allow handling logistics and customs procedures linked to goods and vehicles in their transit from external Free Zone areas and the port terminals. The extension of the Sinfomar PCS also focuses on the management of external buffer areas in order to tackle the issue of lack of space and potential congestion in the port terminals. Such buffer areas are authorized spaces where vehicles directed to the Port of Trieste can stop, so that a better and integrated management of traffic flows to the Port of Trieste and real-time tracking of vehicles are ensured.

Final target of the pilot action is to reduce the time needed to handle customs control activities, granting at the same time a high level of accuracy through the use of electronic data, captured by already existing equipment (such as cameras) and/or generated by virtual customs gates, and processing these data in the Port Community System environment. This way, goods and vehicles will be allowed to move quickly and efficiently between Free Zone areas and a more rational use of existing facilities will be ensured. The pilot action is expected to benefit the whole port-hinterland logistic chain – private operators and public institutions alike.