Ports of Stockholm is one of the busiest passenger ports in the world and among the largest freight ports in northern Europe. Every year, over 16 million passengers and 9 million metric tons of goods pass through its four sites – Stockholm, Nynäshamn, Kapellskär and Norvik. The port handles RoRo vessels and ferry traffic, making reliable, efficient access control a critical part of daily operations.

Ports of Stockholm wanted to modernize access control across all terminals while creating new opportunities to improve operations and customer service. The goal was to replace manual processes with a smart gate environment capable of handling the full range of vehicles passing through – passenger cars, buses, trucks and trailers – while integrating cleanly with existing port systems.

Key requirements included comprehensive access control to prevent unauthorized vehicles from entering line-up areas, smooth traffic management with barriers and traffic lights, license plate recognition supporting multiple nationalities, high-quality imaging of trailers and cargo for damage inspection, vehicle dimension measurement and streamlined data exchange with the port’s Terminal Operating System.

In 2016, Visy was selected to deliver a smart gate environment for Ports of Stockholm. Since then, the system has been rolled out across all four sites.

At every terminal entry and exit point, vehicles are imaged, identified and measured. Visy Truck OCR Portals capture license plates and high-quality images of trucks and trailers for condition recording, while the integrated measurement features record exact vehicle dimensions – length, height and width. Also, the precise start and end time of each visit is documented, and data shared with the port’s TOS.

To get the most out of the smart gate environment, Visy’s software team built the necessary integrations with Ports of Stockholm’s custom TOS by Trebor. The two systems exchange and compare data in real time – matching pre-provided booking details against vehicle information captured at the gate – ensuring every entering vehicle and container is verified and permitted before access is granted.

Visy Access Gate has helped Ports of Stockholm reduce congestion, cut truck turnaround times and handle a greater number of transactions per shift – improving the experience for drivers and operators alike.

Beyond operational efficiency, the system opened up a new revenue stream. With accurate visit duration data now available, Ports of Stockholm was able to introduce parking fees for transportation companies with units parked for extended periods – something that wasn’t possible without the precise entry and exit timestamps Visy Access Gate provides.