Intellectual Property Rights
Copyright, database rights, and other intellectual property rights to all information offered on or through this website by other ministries (including all texts, graphic material, and logos), as well as the image, design, domain names, and software of this website, are held and reserved by the State of the Netherlands, specifically the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Directorate-General Rijkswaterstaat (hereinafter: Rijkswaterstaat), or the respective other ministry.
Information offered on or through this website may be printed and/or downloaded free of charge, insofar as it originates from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management or another ministry.
Reuse as defined in the Dutch Public Access to Government Information Act (Wet openbaarheid van bestuur) of parts of the information offered on or through this website may be subject to (license) conditions.
This may mean that certain content cannot be printed or downloaded and that (license) conditions must first be accepted; where this applies, it will be indicated.
Warning
This website, primarily intended for shipping entrepreneurs (skippers), may contain certain sections (pages and forms) that are less accessible for users with visual impairments.
This website uses so-called functional cookies—small text files with information temporarily stored on your computer. These cookies retain certain session settings and enable functionalities (e.g., forms) on this website. These cookies are necessary to link user actions (of an otherwise anonymous user) to a specific visit session of this website. This information is never collected and/or used for commercial purposes.
The information on this website is compiled and presented with the utmost care. However, it is possible that the information offered on or through this website is outdated, incomplete, and/or (partially) incorrect. The information offered can be modified at any time without further notice.
It is therefore advisable to periodically check whether the information, including the text of this page, has changed. Some of the information offered is used by Rijkswaterstaat for its own operational purposes and may be less suitable for other purposes.
Liability
By visiting this website and/or using the information provided on or through it, you agree to the following. Rijkswaterstaat accepts no liability for any direct and/or indirect, intangible, or consequential damages (including loss of profit, business interruption, reputational damage, and missed opportunities) arising in any way from but not limited to:
- defects, viruses, or other issues with equipment and software in connection with access to or use of this website,
- use of the information offered on or through this website,
- the functioning or unavailability of this website,
- misuse of this website,
- loss of data,
- downloading or use of software made available through this website, or
- third-party claims related to use of this website, except to the extent the damage results from intent or deliberate recklessness by Rijkswaterstaat or its management.
Privacy Statement
For all processing of personal data, only data actively submitted by you will be used, and solely for account registration purposes in relation to the BICS application (see Privacy Statement).
With regard to data submitted via BICS, Dutch privacy rules are laid down in the "Privacy Regulations Traffic Registration Systems (Rijkswaterstaat)" on wetten.nl.
Translations
This website uses artificial intelligence (AI) to translate certain content. While we strive for accuracy, minor inaccuracies or deviations from the original text may occur. When in doubt, we recommend referring to the original (Dutch) version or contacting us.
Accessibility
Rijkswaterstaat pays close attention to user-friendliness, accessibility, technical quality, and findability in the development of this website. The goal is to make all information available in a way that everyone can find, use, and view it. One of the tools for achieving accessibility and quality is the Web Guidelines Framework, based on internationally recognized standards for accessibility, quality, and sustainability of websites.
General
Specification
In general, www.bics.nl broadly complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, particularly regarding usability and structured presentation of information. However, due to the used Content Management System (CMS), the site cannot fully comply with certain W3C standards and syntactic guidelines. In some less critical parts, color contrasts are moderate, and W3C validation of certain pages results in some (syntactic) warnings/errors.
Cause
The BICS website is built in a Content Management System that automatically generates certain code and has technical limitations that prevent content managers from adjusting HTML to fully meet the web guidelines.
Consequence
You may experience reduced accessibility or unintended layout in some browsers.
Alternatives
The BICS website does not offer alternatives for this situation. As a possible solution, pages can be requested in PDF format. Considering the target group (shipping entrepreneurs), the need for accessibility in less common browsers for visually impaired users is of a different order than on other public websites. The website is fully accessible in the latest versions of Edge, Firefox, and Chrome.
Measures
By upgrading to a newer version of the Content Management System, several limitations have been resolved.
PDFs
Specification
PDF documents must be saved in an accessible format that can be read by accessibility software.
Cause
WCAG 2.2 places high demands on PDF documents. Creating compliant PDFs requires specific knowledge and tools. Many PDF documents are supplied externally, which means compliance cannot always be guaranteed.
Consequence
Some PDF documents on the BICS website may not fully comply with WCAG 2.2 guidelines, possibly causing issues for accessibility software.
Alternatives
To address this, the BICS website applies a set of minimum requirements for PDFs:
- Format is PDF/A-1a or PDF/UA-1.
- Text must be selectable and copyable.
- PDF does not contain scanned documents.
- PDF contains no personal data.
Exception: Documents submitted by external parties.
Measures
To reduce the number of inaccessible documents, the BICS website imposes requirements on new PDFs. These must at least meet the criteria listed under 'Alternatives'. In addition, many PDFs have been rebuilt or offered in other formats to ensure compliance.
Old Content
Specification
Applies to all types of documents that have lost their current relevance, such as old news items and/or documents. Various guidelines may apply to these.
Cause
The BICS website does not retroactively adapt archived or older documents, as this would require disproportionate time and resources.
Consequence
The consequences of this decision are limited, as all current information is accessible.
Alternatives
The BICS website offers the current version of files and documents on the website (as much as possible in accordance with applicable guidelines) when available.
Measures
To limit the number of less accessible documents, the BICS website enforces strict requirements on new content and documents.