MarAd-backed report finds “no suitable” e-seal for container standard

MarAd-backed report finds “no suitable” e-seal for container standard

MarAd-backed report finds “no suitable” e-seal for container standard

   A study into electronic container seals conducted by the Cargo Handling Cooperative Program, a partnership between the U.S. Maritime Administration and private industry,    did not find any one e-seal type suitable for use as a standard.
   The study said, however, that e-seals would likely have to be standardized in order to be widely used.
   The report, published Wednesday by the Maritime Administration, found that electronic seal technology is maturing and may be applied to container security. The Cargo Handling Cooperative Program tested five seals: “All Seal” by All Set Tracking, “DataSeal” by Hi-G-Tek, “eSeal” by eLogicity, “MacSema + Navalink” by CGM, and “SmartSeal” by Savi.
   “The study found that the technology will continue to improve, and that it is critical to allow for growth in performance in application to the industry,” MarAd said in a statement.
   The e-seals record container information and can show if the seal has been subjected to tampering. The tested seals can be “read” by direct contact or on a specific radio frequency, which varies with the type of seal.
   MarAd noted that, for a system using e-seals to be efficient, seals would likely have to be read by one kind of reader, using one standard radio frequency.
   “For e-seals to be useful, there will have to be an accepted international standard,” said Maritime Administrator Capt. William G. Schubert. Any real-life solution must also provide real improvements in security and efficiency “without unduly burdening operators,” he added,
   Schubert believes that the study’s results show that the intermodal freight community needs to take into consideration design and operations issues before any single e-seal solution can be standardized.
   Electronic seals, or e-seals, have been proposed as a way to improve security and track cargo movements worldwide. In November, U.S. Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner told members of the trade that companies that use electronic seals and sensor technology to secure their international shipping containers, and monitor tampering, will receive expedited clearance for their goods.
   Ocean carriers, who would likely have to buy and install the seals, have expressed reservations about the effectiveness of container seals in reducing the risk of terrorist attacks using freight containers.
   “There’s an urgent need for effective technology in this area,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta in a statement.
   The work of the Cargo Handling Co-operative Program was supported by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center of San Diego, California, and the Center for Commercial Deployment of Transportation Technologies at the California State University, Long Beach.
   The study group’s report is available online at www.marad.dot.gov .