With the sheer volume of goods transported, companies and ports are well aware of the benefits of protecting cargo from potential theft and attacks, while becoming more and more inventive
More than 80% of world trade by volume and more than 70% by value is transported on board ships and handled by seaports around the world. The huge volumes of container traffic pose complex logistics and security challenges. As a result, operators sometimes incur huge losses; the goods they transport are lost, spoiled and, finally, banal are plundered.
Loss occurs for a variety of reasons, from misplaced, mislabeled, or lost at sea containers to deliberate criminal intrusions such as piracy and port theft.
Accounting and control
FBI statistics show that in the United States alone, $ 32.5 million worth of cargo was stolen in 2014. The Association for the Protection of Transported Goods reported an increase in registered crimes in the field of cargo transportation in 2016, in January 2017 the increase in cargo theft was 64.1% compared to the same month of the previous year. These are traffic statistics both by land and sea. In addition, according to the World Merchant Marine Council, which represents 80% of this segment, an average of 1,390 containers are lost per year.
The transport and trade community will have to wage a long and fierce struggle against these far from new and well-known threats. As budgets in this area of economic activity were reduced due to the global economic crisis in 2009, investments in the development of new security systems also decreased.
However, recently, they started talking again about finding the best ways to ensure the safety of goods both in ports and at sea, as well as about radically improving the system of accounting and tracking goods in the global chain of shipping. As a result, the transport and trade community was forced to admit its slowness in adopting new advanced digital technologies to improve cargo handling and improve security.
However, the situation is changing. Carriers and port operators are increasingly investing in technologies based on the so-called Internet of Things (IoT - the concept of a computing network of physical objects ("things") equipped with embedded technologies to interact with each other or with the external environment), from inexpensive monitoring devices and digital prints to expensive scanners, sensors, artificial intelligence cameras and data management software tools.
The need for digitalization is being championed by major carriers such as AR Moller-Maersk, which has named digital innovation one of four "critical battles" in its pathetic new strategy, Stronger Together. Its idea is that five brands - AWP Terminals, Damco, Maersk Container Industry, Maersk Line and Svitzer - will in this case work as a single organism, as a single business.
“Digitization means a lot to all of us, from the director to the young man on deck,” said the head of Transport & Logistics at AP Moller-Maersk.
Problem solving
According to Nick Delmeira, CORE (Consistently Optimized REsilient) project coordinator, four years ago, digital technology “hadn’t penetrated that deeply” into the transportation sector, but then the process began to accelerate rapidly. "We are finally seeing digital solutions coming to the market."
The European CORE project was launched three years ago with the aim of accelerating the transition of the European transport sector into the 21st century. The program, ending this year, aims to revitalize research and development and the introduction of new technologies to reduce the risks associated with natural disasters, terrorism and other forms of illegal activity, as well as accelerate supply and improve safety, while ensuring compliance with all standards of the International Convention on protection of human life at sea.
This program implements 20 separate initiatives, half of them focusing on research and the other half on demonstration and pilot projects. “CORE wants to convince the world that it is possible to speed up the supply chain, improve quality and efficiency while meeting all the rules and regulations that are the foundation of our business,” said Delmeir.
Technologies under development include smart containers with integrated IoT, which CORE said in a statement "are poised to revolutionize global commerce just as standard steel crates did in the 1950s and 1960s."
The CORE project is studying the possibility of manufacturing containers of lightweight composite materials instead of steel containers, into which sensors will be built. The prototype container was designed as part of a research project from the Joint Research Center of the European Commission. The development team has selected the required sensors and plans to test this technology in the near future.
Another innovative solution is being implemented under the auspices of the CORE project - a new low-cost digital Babbler seal that does not require changing the container design. The Babbler seal developed by the Dutch company Itude Mobile is installed on the inside of the container door, then it is fixed and activated via an application in a smartphone. If the integrity of the container is violated during transportation, light enters the sensors and a message is sent to the smartphone that the seal is “broken”.
The condition of the seal and the temperature of the cargo can be checked via Bluetooth wireless protocol or LoRa long-range radio channel, on which IoT applications are based widely throughout Europe.
For the CORE project, the Babbler digital seal was initially tested by the major flower auction company FloraHolland, which aims to help Kenyan gardeners reduce logistics costs and simplify the import / export process. This system is currently actively operated by Seacon Logistics, a partner of the CORE project.
The advantages of anti-tamper devices and tracking systems based on IoT technology are that they provide cargo owners with more than just peace of mind, they clearly indicate whether the container has been opened or not, and this speeds up the inspection process at the port.
“Through the use of software tools, we speed up the processes in the port, since the administration can connect its programs and databases either to the recipient, or the sender, or the sea carrier and receive the necessary data from them. Upon arrival of the cargo, all suspicious containers known in advance are checked, thereby saving a lot of time,”Delmeir said.
He added that by reducing the volume of checks and the time that containers are in port, the overall costs are reduced for everyone - the owner of the cargo, the carrier and the port operator.
While IoT-connected and sensor-equipped devices are mostly cheap to manufacture and operate, all the safety, accounting, control, and handling benefits they offer can be diminished by battery life constraints. and the availability of communications at sea.
For example, a Babbler seal has a battery life of 16 months, then the power source must be replaced. With an estimated 130 million containers in circulation worldwide, the need to replace the battery every 16 months could render such systems unprofitable for some operators.
Constant contact
Since the most effective way to steal goods is often to steal the entire container or ship at once, owners and operators are now investing more in tracking and control technology to monitor their movement around the clock. This means that they can report the moment the device leaves the route, about where it is moving, and this, in turn, greatly simplifies the search for cargo and the subsequent capture of intruders (if any).
However, such devices again need access to communication networks and a longer battery life. The American company GlobalStar operates 24 LEO satellites, which allow tracking the transportation of goods around the world.
GlobalStar calls its STX3 chipset the first IoT system that actually works, such as monitoring beer shipments for US distributor United International. A carrier can deploy this sensor technology to monitor the location, temperature and pressure of shipments of hundreds of beers, cider and mead. Using the system, he can receive detailed information on the state of beer in each container in real time, even on the open sea.
“Our satellites work like a mirror in the sky, picking up signals from devices and sending them to one of our ground stations. They are sent through our private channel to the customer who can see where their cargo is,”said Corrie Brennan, Regional Sales Manager at GlobalStar.
Despite the relative costs of satellite communications, which the company is trying to reduce by paying per message and selling messages in packages, Brennan said, customers want to know where their goods are at any given time. At the same time, he added that "unstable 3G / 4G communications, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, are not yet good enough to meet their needs."
To address the issue of battery life, the company is working with a Canadian solar cell development partner that could extend the life of its devices to about ten years, up from two or three years for most devices currently.
“A solar-powered device will make the job more efficient,” Brennan said. "In terms of transportation and logistics, we mostly track devices that do not have their own power source, so the resource is very limited for two or three years."
Port solutions
Port operators also recognize that digitizing transport information is critical to improving supply chain efficiency, as manual paper handling in international shipping is simply no longer practical, efficient and out of date.
The digitization of the supply chain also allows real-time recording of data on the location and handling of cargo, from manufacturer to shipper, terminal operator, insurer, carrier, etc.
In March 2017, Maersk announced that it would digitize its documentation with the assistance of IBM. Using blockchain technology, it creates a new global trading solution that will move all administrative processes and transactions associated with the transport of one container (according to Maersk research, this is more than 200 information exchanges with more than 30 people) to the Internet.
Similar decisions and approaches to work processes are currently being made by the authorities of many ports. This is done to improve security; building maximum transparency and accountability; accelerating the safe movement of people across the territory; and reducing the cost by reducing the need for personal cargo escort.
Port Manati, located at the entrance to Tampa Bay in Florida, is working with Siemens to improve safety and improve compliance with safety procedures and processes. The port plans to implement all this by integrating digital operational management systems of this company.
“The biggest problem with ports like Manati is the sheer size and the amount of traffic that it passes through,” explained Josh Hudanish, General Manager of the Tampa Port, a division of Building Technologies.
Siemen Vantage PSIM Operational Management Kit is an open architecture system that can interact with various subsystems, usually operating independently, such as access control, video surveillance, fire alarms, alarm systems, telephones, radio communication and public address systems, integrating them into a single portal. This allows security leaders to gain a better understanding of the environment and make decisions and action faster.
In order to improve security and simplify entry and exit from the port, the SiPass access control system and the Siveillance SitelQ Wide Area automated video surveillance system, also developed by Siemens, have been integrated.
Manati, like every port, must match the TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential), which is issued by the transport security service. Using the capabilities of the operations center, port operators can monitor all data from access control and surveillance systems in order to coordinate their actions and check those who move from one terminal to another. In addition, managers can track the cargo as it passes through the port, as well as archive information for subsequent reference.
“This made it possible to increase the efficiency of the security service through the use of technology for monitoring and accompanying cargo during its movement through the port, while there is no need to accompany the movement of each part of the cargo,” said Hudanish. - Entrance gates can be fully automated and controlled from the operations center; when a worker swipes his TWIC card, he creates an entry in the access control system."
The piracy problem
However, there are some threats that cannot yet be dealt with using digital technologies. One of them is piracy.
Despite a steady decline in the number of incidents in recent years, this threat has not been removed from the agenda. A recent report from the Oceans Beyond Piracy Foundation said attacks are not only occurring in the infamous area off the coast of Somalia. Increased pirate attacks off the coast of West Africa, from 54 in 2015 to 95 in 2016; most of the attacks take place in Nigerian waters.
This report is also supported by data from other sources, which claim that the Indian Ocean experienced a number of piracy-related incidents in 2017, including the successful boarding and hijacking of merchant ships; however, pirate activity reached its highest level since 2012.
In 2010, former British special forces soldier Wayne Harrison survived a pirate attack in the Indian Ocean. Harrison and the security team rescued the ship's crew by using makeshift devices to lock and reinforce doors and portholes in order to buy time and wait for the warship to approach.
“Everything went well, because we trained the crew, asked them to be more attentive, to understand the situation at every moment of time, and also taught us to put blocking devices on the doors to delay the pirates so that they could not get down into the next flight of stairs and then into the engine room” - said Harrison.
To help other crews defend themselves during attacks, he created a lightweight Easi-Chock door and handle interlock device that can withstand a direct pull of 80 kg. The device does not allow passage through internal and external doors that provide access to the ship's superstructures, and most importantly, it provides a safe passage from the bridge to the interior.
Ships entering high-risk areas typically use barbed tape and fire hoses for protection, but once pirates break through the fence, nothing can stop them from entering the ship's interior. However, the Easi-Chock can be used to lock all doors inside and out. To get inside the ship, pirates have to break open the doors one by one, which takes a lot of time.
“On each floor inside the superstructure, we create an additional line of defense and an obstacle to delay or deny access to any intruder. This allows you to get a 15-20 minute head start for each door, depending on which devices are used. As a rule, pirates either leave the ship or help arrives on time."
The company has also developed the Easi-Grille, a removable porthole grille, which can withstand a pulling force of over one and a half tons. It takes 20 minutes to glue the dowel pins onto the surface adjacent to the porthole (window) using an industry standard adhesive. When approaching a hazardous area, the grille can be attached to the porthole for added protection.
The entire vessel can be fitted with Easi-Chocks for around £ 15,000. The company sometimes works with shipyard owners and installs its systems directly on new ships under construction. “The current level of security that we provide is perfectly in line with the requirements, but as time goes on, we need to be smarter and more ready to improve our products,” said Harrison.
Savvy will not hurt
In 2016, the Maritime Shipping Council estimated that approximately 130 million filled containers were shipped globally in 2016, containing more than $ 4 trillion worth of goods. The demand for transportation is already high, but despite this, it will only grow in the future. Security challenges will grow accordingly. The shipping community needs to have a coordinated position on both physical and cyber security of cargo as thieves become more sophisticated.
For example, last year, the consulting firm G4S reported that criminal gangs were actively using 3D printing to copy security devices and further hack containers. The study says that attackers created exact copies of well-known cable seals, combination locks and keys and used them to hide traces and any signs of tampering, such as a broken seal.
As a consequence, with the proliferation of digital solutions embedded in global freight transport, more attention needs to be paid to cybersecurity. Failure to do so can be costly, both literally and figuratively.
A cyberattack on AP Moller-Maersk last year cost the company $ 200-300 million. However, cybersecurity concerns and the upfront costs of investing in new digital technologies can become insurmountable obstacles for small ports and small carriers.
Despite this, the prevailing trend in the field of cargo transportation is aimed at strengthening the coordinated response of the community to possible threats. According to Delmeira, digital technologies are one of the most important ways to solve cargo security problems. He expressed the hope that eventually standardized digital systems will become commonplace in every European port.
“If everything depended on the European Commission and the European Customs Union, we could switch to digital systems rather quickly, but the problem is that the EU states need to resolve these issues and it will depend on how it goes, quickly, slowly or absolutely nothing. But of course we will see more of these technologies over time."
Further development of network technologies, for example, the 5G standard, and the transition of companies to cloud storage technologies, will undoubtedly increase not only the level of automation and digitization of the cargo handling process, but also the level of their safety.
