GTN PORTAL JOINS SECURITY INITIATIVE SST

GTN PORTAL JOINS SECURITY INITIATIVE SST    The multicarrier container shipping portal GTN has joined the “Smart and Secure Tradelanes” security initiative already backed by the major port groups Hutchison Port Holdings, PSA Corp. and P&O Ports.
   The program uses software, radio frequency identification technology and electronic container seals to track maritime containers and ensure that containers have not been tampered with.
   “While there has been a concerted effort to improve container security, today’s maritime supply chain suffers from physical security gaps that can put cargo at risk,” said John Urban, president of GT Nexus, the IT operator of the GTN portal. “Smart and Secure Tradelanes provides a framework to reduce these risks,” he added.
   The participation of GTN in the Smart and Secure Tradelanes will link logistics information processes with technologies to pinpoint the global movement of cargoes containers, GT Nexus said.
   To date, the Smart and Secure Tradelanes initiative has been introduced at the ports of Singapore, Hong Kong, Seattle-Tacoma, Los Angeles-Long Beach, New York-New Jersey, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Felixstowe. As previously reported, several hundred containers have been shipped between these ports under the program.
   The U.S. Maritime Administration said on Monday that it has started a Cargo Handling Cooperative Project to test and evaluate electronic-seal technologies for cargo containers.