Containers transporting cartons of chilled and frozen beef from Namibia to the UK are now being secured and tracked end-to-end by RFID technologies and networked software.
The “SST for Africa” project was co-announced today by participants in Smart & Secure Tradelanes (SST), including the US Trade & Development Agency (USTDA), the World Customs Organisation (WCO), SIMTAG (50% funded by the European Union), South African Port Operations (SAPO), the Namibian Port Authority (Namport), and MEATCO.
SST seeks to improve the visibility and security of containerised cargo with proven and emerging advanced technologies. In the “SST for Africa” project, participants are examining whether tagging shipments from MEATCO, a supplier of additives for meat and fish products, will improve the management of perishable products, including customer satisfaction, security and efficiency.
Within the “SST for Africa” project, refrigerated trucks and containers that transport beef from the Namibian interior have been secured with active battery-powered RFID sensor bolt seals. The RFID sensor seals are supplied by Savi Technology, and the single use E-Seal by EJ Brooks.
The tagged shipments are then tracked automatically by fixed and mobile handheld RFID readers at key inland and seaport checkpoints between Namibia and the UK’s Port of Tilbury. Additional tracking methods are used for the last-mile movements into the interior of the UK. Additionally, for the first time, vessel latitude and longitude information will be supplied by the Automated Identification System (AIS) onboard the feeder vessels transporting the containers from Walvis Bay to Cape Town.
The “SST for Africa” project includes automated data feeds at key checkpoints involving two different routes, and, when completed within another month, will have involved a total of about 50 “smart” container shipments:
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One route involves loading beef into a refrigerated container at the Okahandja Plant in Namibia, electronically sealing it and trucking it to the Port of Walvis Bay. A Feeder Vessel ships it to the Port of Cape Town, where it is transshipped on a Deep Sea Vessel to the Tilbury Container Services terminal for unlocking and unloading.
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The other route involves transporting the beef in a sealed refrigerated truck from Windhoek Plant in Namibia to Table Bay Cold Stores, where it is unsealed, unpacked and put into storage. When ready for shipment, it is loaded into a refrigerated container, sealed and trucked to Cape Town for loading onto a ship also destined for the Port of Tilbury.
This project extends SST’s presence to a fifth continent – Africa – after having installed and tracked containers at installations in more than 15 other port operations in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. More than 2,000 containers equipped with active RFID sensor seals have been shipped under the auspices of SST-related programs.
Francis Frost, projects director of Thomas Miller & Co, the international insurance services firm and coordinating company for SIMTAG, said: “Everyone benefits from this trial. SST provides end-to-end visibility solutions in near real-time, but in this particular trade lane, SIMTAG is providing ‘final mile’ data and access to other services and trading partners.”
