Security Devices News

Clandestine migration has been a problem for the transport sector across Europe for some time now. While more stringent border crossing checks have been imposed due to the current COVID-19 crisis, the risk to operators is not diminished. Furthermore, as the restrictions on movement begin to ease migration activity could be set to escalate warns international freight insurer TT Club.The smuggling of people has become a major issue in certain parts of the world. Political imperatives in target countries have led to stricter immigration restrictions and increased government action.

Resilience planning, Info Sharing Take Spotlight“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” That old chestnut gets turned on its head when it comes to port cyber security. It’s more like “Oh what a tangled web we’ve woven, so much harder to stop data stolen.”Ports today have the physical aspect of security pretty well nailed shut - gates, locks, fencing, alarms, cameras, drones, etc. As Chris Mason, Rajant Corp.’s director of sales for EMEA, notes, “Every…

As the political and humanitarian situation in Calais continues to unfold, the specialist freight transport insurer, TT Club provides a perspective on the implications for the freight and haulage industry and steps which operators can take to avoid heavy penalties from being caught carrying illegal immigrants. While focused on the current situation in Calais, the precautionary measures recommended are generally relevant. The problem of illegal immigrants entering Western Europe has been a geopolitical issue for several years. Thus far in 2015 it is widely reported that there have been in excess of 37,000 attempts by immigrants to cross from France to England, the vast majority via Calais.

Tognum has agreed to the building of a public path running between its MTU plant in the Friedrichshafen district of Manzell and the shore of Lake Constance. A contract to that effect has been signed  by Joachim Coers, CEO of Tognum and managing director of MTU; Andreas Brand, Lord Mayor of Friedrichshafen; and Lothar Heissel, chief architect from the regional administrative authority (Präsidium) in Tübingen. With its signature, MTU Friedrichshafen allows Friedrichshafen City Council to build the path directly in front of the MTU Plant 2 site.

GateKeeper USA Inc. (OTC Symbol: GTKP) announced that in a recent Bloomberg article, it was reported by Jeff Bliss that the US Backs Off All Cargo Scanning Goals. As reported by CBP (Customs & Boarder Protection), officials' port X-ray and Gamma-ray machines were only able to facilitate scanning 4.1% of the millions of containers that arrive in US ports each year. That percentage is consistent over the last several years. Even though DHS has publically admitted that with the utilization of existing technologies 100% screening of incoming containers would be nearly impossible, lawmakers continue to favor the mandate and stated that they are concerned about terrorists detonating a dirty bomb at a port, killing workers and rendering the facility and surrounding areas uninhabitable for years.

Dr. Jim Giermanski (Chairman, Powers Global Holdings, Inc.) and Chris Giermanski (Director of International Operations, Transportation Services, Inc.) weigh in on the balance between facilitating trade and guaranteeing cargo identity and quantity - and what CPB needs to do to achieve just that. Part 1 of this 2 part report ran online on Marinelink on Tuesday, July 3rd. The motor carrier, rail carrier, or vessel carrier  simply don’t know what is in an already loaded, sealed conveyance. The carrier takes the word of the shipper about the contents from a document provided by the shipper.

Genova-based classification society RINA has introduced new voluntary standards which will allow ships to connect to shore-based electricity while in port, reducing harbour air pollution. And at the same session of its Technical Committee it approved a series of new standards aimed at improving security standards for yachts. The new notation HVSC - High Voltage Shore Connection - sets standards to design into a newbuilding or modify an existing ship so that electricity can be supplied from the shore to the ship for the operation of the ship's machinery while in port. The diesel generators can be shut down, considerably reducing the ship's emissions.

The United States Transportation Command recently deployed a container security system which detects tampering and helps protect military container shipments moving from to . USTRANSCOM introduced the CommerceGuard container security system, provided by GE Security, Inc., a business of GE Enterprise Solutions, to better protect its container shipments. Based at Scott Air Force Base, , USTRANSCOM directs and supervises execution of the military supply chain for the Department of Defense. The command required quick action to add high technology intrusion detection and tracking to containers being transported to the of in . The system provides shipment security throughout the supply chain.

GE Security, Inc.,  announced plans to submit its CommerceGuard container security solution for participation in the next phase of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) testing and evaluation of conveyance security devices (CSD). CommerceGuard is a solution for global supply chain security, currently helping to protect intermodal shipping containers while they are in-transit by adding intrusion detection to other security measures already in place in the supply chain. Test and evaluation is an important step forward on the path to better protecting seaports and the entire global supply chain with the critical security layer CSDs can currently offer.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry signs House Bill 3011, authorizing creation of the authorizing creation of the Houston Ship Channel Security District. Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed into law House Bill 3011, authorizing creation of the Houston Ship Channel Security District -- the nation's first of its kind and modeled after a management district. The signing took place at the Port of Houston Authority Executive Office Building. The Texas Legislature, in its 80th biannual session, authorized the creation of the Houston Ship Channel Security District -- an entity, proponents hope, that will serve as a security model for ports throughout the United States.

L-3 Communications’s Security and Detection Systems subsidiary has been selected by the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) to provide 30 state-of-the-art prototype cargo container security devices for field testing. L-3 is one of two companies downselected from an original five to receive Phase II funding from HSARPA for the development of the cargo container security devices. The cost-share program uses government and corporate funding valued at over $5m. L-3's Advanced Container Security Device (ACSD) will continually track the sequence of a cargo container's journey from the moment it is sealed until it is released at its final destination.