Adding a ferry consisting only of the shipments that are placed on the route

A ferry can be defined in two different ways in Opter. You choose which of the following ways you want to define a ferry:

A ferry consists of two terminals and the route between them, with the terminals being the ports between which the ferry travels. For instructions, see Adding a ferry consisting of two terminals and the distance between them.
A ferry only consists of the shipments that are placed on the route operated by the ferry.

The instructions below describe how to add a ferry that consists only of shipments that are placed on the ferry’s route. For more information about ferries, see Ferry lines.

A ferry only has one direction

A ferry in Opter only has one direction. For example, to add the ferry connection between Stockholm and Helsinki, two ferries have to be added in Opter, one for each direction.

The resources are included on the ferry

The resources associated with the shipments are included when the shipments are put on a ferry booking, but even after shipments have been placed on a ferry booking it is still possible to assign other resources to the shipments. For more information, see Using ferries in dispatch.

Step 1: Add a ferry

A ferry consisting only of the shipments that are placed on the route operated by the ferry is created as follows:

Click on Register > Ferries.
Click on to create a new ferry.
Give the ferry a Name, for example “STO-HEL”, to indicate that the direction of the ferry is Stockholm to Helsinki.
A terminal does not need to be entered in the From terminal drop-down list.
A terminal does not need to be entered in the To terminal drop-down list.
The Automatically split shipments at terminals checkbox is used to configure how to define a ferry in Opter. Deselect the checkbox to define a ferry as the shipments on the route.
Enter the ferry’s Departure time, Arrival time, Plus days and Schedule. For information about how to fill in these fields, see Ferries (window).
Click on to save all changes.

Step 2: Link Opter with PTV to get correct distances

To get the correct distance, the ferry lines in Opter need to be linked to the ferry lines in PTV. We recommend that you do this for all your ferry lines, but make the setting for one ferry line at a time. More information about PTV is available in PTV Map&Guide.

Proceed as follows:

Click on Register > Ferries and click on the Distance tab. In the list on the far left, select the ferry line (ferry) you want to link with PTV.
Search for ferry lines in PTV in one of the following ways:
- Use the map and click on one of the ferry line's ports or terminals.
- Use the Search box and enter the address of one of the ferry terminals.
The Result box shows one or more ferry lines that are registered in PTV.
In the Result box, click on the ferry line that matches the ferry line (ferry) that you have selected in the list on the left.
Click on the Select ferry button.
The PTV name and PTV ID fields are automatically filled with the information from PTV.
Click on to save all changes.

Step 3: Register the length of the vehicles

When booking vehicles on a ferry, it is often necessary to specify the length of the vehicles. Check that all your vehicles have their length defined in Opter:

Click on Register > Vehicles > Capacity.
In the Dimensions box, in the Length field, enter the length of the vehicle in metres.
Click on to save all changes.