Ontology-based process design support tool for Vessel Clearance System

The demands of sophisticated data communications have issued a new challenge to port logistics systems. Customers expect ports to handle their generated administrative data while a vessel is docked in a port. One port logistics system, known as the Vessel Clearance System (VCS), manages large numbers of documents related to the handling of containers. In the VCS system, information flows through many organizations such as the port authority, shipping agents, marine offices, immigration offices, and others. Therefore, for effective management of the Business Process (BP) of the VCS system, a standardized method of BP modeling is essential, especially in heterogeneous system environments. In a port, according to port policy, terms and data are sued that are similar to but different from those of other logistics partners, which hinders standardized modeling of the BP. In order to avoid tedious and time-consuming document customization work, more convenient modeling of BP for VCS is essential. This paper proposes an ontology-based method to assist ontology engineers in their fundamental VCS process modeling tasks. We expect that this methodology will facilitate convenient and quick designing of port BPs.