Intellectual Property Rights
Copyright and database rights, as well as other intellectual property rights, in all information provided on or through this website by other ministries (including all text, graphics, and logos), as well as the appearance, design, domain names, and software of this website, are owned by and reserved by the State of the Netherlands, in this case, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management (hereinafter: Rijkswaterstaat) or the respective other ministry.
Information provided on or through this website may be printed and/or downloaded for free, provided that the information provided through this website is from the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment or another ministry.
Reuse as intended in the Public Access to Government Information Act of parts of the information provided on or through this website may be subject to (license) conditions.
This may entail that certain content cannot be printed or downloaded, and (license) conditions must be accepted first; where this is the case, this will be indicated.
Disclaimer
This website, primarily intended for professional mariners (shipowners), may contain certain components (pages and input forms) that may be less suitable for users with visual impairments.
This website uses so-called functional cookies, small text files with information temporarily stored on your computer. These cookies remember certain session settings and enable functionalities on this website (including input forms). These cookies are necessary to link user actions (from an otherwise anonymous user) to a specific visit session on this website. In no case is this information collected and used for commercial purposes.
The information on this website is compiled and presented with the utmost care. However, it may happen that the information provided on or through this website is outdated, incomplete, and/or partially incorrect. The information provided on or through this website may be changed in content and presentation with immediate effect and without further notice.
It is advisable to check periodically whether the information provided on or through this website, including the text on this page, has changed. The information provided on or through this website may consist in part of information that Rijkswaterstaat uses for its own task execution and may, therefore, be less suitable for other purposes.
Liability
By visiting this website and/or using the information provided on or through this website, you agree to the applicability of the following. Rijkswaterstaat accepts no liability for direct and/or indirect, immaterial or consequential damage (including, but not limited to, loss of profit, business interruption, damage to reputation, and missed assignments) that results in any way, but does not have to be limited to:
- defects, viruses, or other imperfections in equipment and other software related to access to or use of this website,
- use of the information offered on or through this website,
- the operation or non-availability of this website,
- abuse of this website,
- loss of data,
- downloading or using software made available through this website, or
- claims by third parties in connection with the use of this website, except insofar as the damage results from the intent or conscious recklessness of Rijkswaterstaat or its executives.
Privacy Statement
For all processing of personal data, only data actively provided by you is used, and it is used solely for the purpose of registering an account for the use of the BICS application (see Privacy Statement).
Regarding the data registered via BICS, privacy rules in the Netherlands are laid down in the "Privacyreglement verkeersregistratiesystemen (Rijkswaterstaat)" on wetten.nl.
Accessibility
In creating this website, Rijkswaterstaat pays great attention to user-friendliness, accessibility, construction quality, and findability. The goal is to offer all information in a way that everyone can find, use, and view it. One of the tools to achieve accessibility and construction quality is the Webrichtlijnen Framework. These guidelines are based on internationally recognized agreements on accessibility, construction quality, and sustainability of websites.
General
- Specification
In general, www.bics.nl largely complies with Web Guidelines version 2 (WRv2), especially with regard to usability and the structured presentation of information for users. However, due to the use of the Content Management System (CMS), the site cannot fully comply with the web guidelines, especially with regard to meeting certain W3C standards and syntactic guidelines. In certain less important areas, the color contrasts are moderate, and W3C validation of certain pages results in some (syntactic) comments/errors. - Cause
The BICS website is built on a Content Management System, Drupal version 9, which generates certain codes automatically and does not have all the capabilities (technical limitations) for making adjustments to the HTML code from the content manager to fully meet the web guidelines. - Consequence
It may happen that, for example, in certain (less common) browsers, you experience reduced accessibility in some cases, or the layout is not as intended. - Alternatives
The BICS website does not offer alternatives to this situation. As a possible solution, you can request the page as a PDF. Given the target audience (professional mariners), the need for support/accessibility in less common browsers for visually impaired visitors is of a different nature than on other public websites. In any case, the website is fully accessible with the latest versions of the following browsers: Edge, Firefox, and Chrome. - Measures
By upgrading to a new version of the Content Management System (Drupal 9), almost all limitations (including outdated HTML syntax, audio support for completing Captcha) have now been eliminated.
PDFs
- Specification
PDF documents must be stored in an accessible format, a format that can be read by software. - Cause
The guideline sets very high requirements for PDF files. Specific knowledge and/or tools are required to create PDFs that meet the requirements. However, many of the PDF documents are supplied externally, which means that these requirements cannot always be met. - Consequence
The BICS website believes that the deviation from the standard has been sufficiently resolved. - Alternatives
As a solution to the problem, the BICS website chooses to use a set of minimum requirements for PDFs:
1. The format is PDF/A-1a or PDF/UA-1.
2. The text must be selectable and copyable.
3. The PDF does not contain scanned documents.
4. The PDF does not contain personal data.
Except for externally supplied documents. - Measures
To limit the number of less accessible documents, the BICS website imposes strict requirements on new PDFs. The PDFs must meet the criteria under 'Alternatives' at a minimum.
Old Content
- Specification
Concerns all types of documents that have lost their current value, such as old news articles and documents. Various guidelines may apply to this. - Cause
The BICS website does not retroactively update the archives and older documents. This would cost disproportionately much time and money. - 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 the applicable guidelines) when they are available. - Measures
To limit the number of less accessible documents, the BICS website imposes strict requirements on new documents.
Accessibility Notification Form
If you believe that, despite our testing, this website does not meet the standards, or if you have no access to the information you are looking for for any reason, please let us know. This will help us improve the website so that you and potential visitors in the future have optimal access to the information provided. You can report your findings via bics@rws.nl.