A regional workshop in Batumi, Georgia, held from 9 to 11 September, brought maritime, port and customs authorities from the Black Sea and Caspian Sea littoral states together to exchange experience and to identify practical steps for implementing Maritime Single Windows.
Sources indicated the event on 16 September 2026, noting that the meeting was intended to help participating administrations move towards the operational use of national single-window systems that connect ships with public authorities.
A Maritime Single Window is a centralised digital platform for exchanging information between ships and public authorities. The concept reduces the need for multiple submissions of the same data across agencies by providing a single channel through which required pre-arrival, arrival and departure information can be submitted and processed.
Delegations at the Batumi workshop comprised representatives from maritime administrations, port authorities and customs services of states bordering the two seas. The forum's structure emphasised peer-to-peer exchange of practical experience rather than theoretical presentations, with participants asked to identify the next tangible steps for their own national programmes.
The meeting sought to translate regional interest in single-window systems into concrete implementation activity. Participants examined where experience from established systems could be applied in neighbouring jurisdictions and considered how to sequence work so that individual national efforts could align with cross-border requirements.
Regional coordination
Bringing littoral states together reflects a recognition that maritime information flows are transnational by nature and that operational compatibility matters for trade and navigation. The workshop aimed to foster dialogue on how national single-window designs might interoperate, enabling vessels that operate across both seas to benefit from more consistent administrative treatment.
Identifying practical steps
Delegates used the three-day session to map out priorities for action and to share lessons learned from national initiatives; the emphasis was on identifying practicable and near-term measures rather than setting long-range targets. The report did not specify follow-up dates or commitments, but it described the exercise as a practical attempt to close the gap between policy consensus and implementation.
The Batumi meeting also underlined the role of customs authorities alongside maritime and port agencies in single-window development, recognising that integration across government functions is intrinsic to a single-window's effectiveness. Officials took stock of institutional arrangements and data exchange needs that must be addressed when designing systems intended to serve multiple public bodies.
For the littoral states, progress on Maritime Single Windows could mean more predictable procedures for ships and a more streamlined interface with national administrations, but the workshop made clear that translating such aims into working systems requires co-ordinated technical, legal and administrative work. The focus in Batumi on exchanging experience and identifying immediate steps aimed to advance that practical agenda without pre-empting national decisions on architecture or timing.
reports's account of the workshop places the Batumi gathering within a continuing regional conversation about digitalisation of maritime services; the report frames the event as one of a series of exchanges intended to accelerate the adoption of single-window platforms across neighbouring jurisdictions. The outcomes of the discussions will be visible only as participating states take the next steps in their domestic implementation processes, and observers will watch whether the practical priorities identified in Batumi translate into coordinated action across the Black Sea and Caspian Sea region.