More customers served, more services available, more transactions supported and more electronic certificates processed, are the main variables that characterise the growth path of the Balcão Eletrónico do Mar (BMar) during the pandemic.

Since the first pilot services were made available in 2018,the BMar had its base construction phase in 2019, but 2020 was the year of overachievement in terms of use and generation of benefits for DGRM customers and for those who want to use the Sea either from a professional or recreational point of view.

Currently, with about 100 services available online, the growth path continued at the start of 2021, and at the end of the first quarter of this year the barrier of 100,000 electronic certificates generated for the multiple customers served was surpassed.

The growing availability of online services and the recommendation to use digital tools in the face of the Pandemic made BMar the tool of excellence for interaction with DGRM and with the services shared between various State entities, providing access to these services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for national and foreign customers, individuals and groups, resulting in a very sharp growth in the indicators of this platform.

The portfolio of electronic outputs generated is quite vast, including Recreational Craft Licences, Aquaculture Licences or Private Use of Maritime Space Licences, Professional or Recreational Fishing Licences, Radio Station Licences, Ship and Seafarer Certificates, or even approval of Waste Management Plans for Marinas or Port Facilities, among other types of digital outputs. The types of services provided grow and accompany the evolution of the sectors served.

Remember that the BMar is an electronic counter managed by DGRM, which aims to support, in a dematerialized way, all the procedures for issuing licences, authorizations, certificates, titles, among other types of electronic documents, for the exercise of various activities at sea and certification of seafarers and vessels. All electronic certificates issued follow the recommendations of the IMO - International Maritime Organization

This project, which continues to grow, provides greater transparency and easier access to public services in the area of the sea, while avoiding travel and duplication of information and documents and investing in dematerialisation as an engine for generating environmental and economic benefits.