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Follow that container
Published on Dec 1, 2003
Electronic-seal technology allows exporters to follow their shipments each step of the way without fear of tampering
Exporters will soon have far fewer headaches in terms of their containers being tampered with or getting lost en route. With the implementation of electronic-seal technology, it will be possible next year for firms to track containers throughout the freight-supply chain.
After successfully testing and demonstrating the end-to-end supply-chain security system using the technology between the ports of Laem Chabang and Seattle in Washington, Laem Chabang Port is now studying full implementation.
E-seal technology entails the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) to transfer freight information to the Internet, facilitate inspections and monitor commercial vehicles and their drivers and cargo. It will come in a form of an additional seal to be used with a conventional lock to increase the security of containerised cargo movements.
Teerayudh Dummanonda, managing director of Laem Chabang Port, said the project not only aimed to allow exporters to trace and check the location of a container, but also to reduce shipping costs, including insurance and the charges for the time spent at the receiving port.
The move is a continuation of the Secure Trade in the Apec Region (Star) Initiative’s Bangkok/Laem Chabang Efficient and Secure Trade (Best) Project, known as Star-Best – a supply-chain security initiative that was successfully demonstrated in the middle of the year.
As one of 20 mega-ports worldwide that has signed the agreement on the Container Security Initiative (CSI) with the United States, Laem Chabang’s implementation of e-seal technology is a vital link in ensuring security for maritime trade between Thailand and the US.
Each year between 500,000 and 600,000 containers are shipped from Laem Chabang to the port of Seattle.
So how does e-seal technology actually work?
Anusorn Lovichit, managing director of Tiffa EDI Services Co, distributor for Savi Technology, the company supplying the technology to the Star-Best project, said the RFID tags functioned as electronic-bolt seals on the outside of containers.
As the container number is checked and sent via a GPRS (general packet radio services)-based device to the Internet, the number of the seal used to lock the container will be transferred to port-based reading devices every time it is checked in and out. Via a connection to a server, data read from the seal will automatically be sent to the Internet, thus enabling exporters and officials to trace its movement.
Anusorn said that to complete the secure-trade loop, the use of a GPS (global positioning system) satellite was needed so that the status of each container can be checked en route. The GPS device will be able to communicate with the e-seal and send data back to the Internet continuously.
When this data arrives, information from the seals will be read by devices located at strategic trade checkpoints. The fact that the seals can be opened only with a password will prove a major deterrent for the wrong person to try to open them. If someone does manage to break one, the tag will send out an immediate alert to the shippers.
Teerayudh said Laem Chabang Port expected to fully implement the project next year, with each party involved in the maritime-trade process responsible for its own investment.
While exporters will have to invest in the renewable e-seals, which cost Bt7,000 each per container, the Customs Department will install e-seal readers at their gates to check information loaded in the seal, as well as the check-in and check-out time of each container.
The port expects that it will require an annual budget of about Bt600 million to pay for the data sent from each container to a portal on the Internet set up by the private sector.
Suchalee Pongprasert
The Nation
suchalee@nationgroup.com
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