secure-chain.eu – A more secure and reliable collection and release of import containers in the Dutch ports. To make this possible, the business community and the authorities have jointly initiated the Secure Chain. The Secure Chain will first be introduced in Rotterdam. Every link in the logistics chain has a role to play in the Secure Chain: the shipping line/shipping agent, the shipper, the forwarder, the transport operator and the terminal. The process is very straightforward, but it does require a new operational approach for each link.
Chain with only authorised parties
In the Secure Chain, the authorisation to collect a container is digitally transferred from one link to the next in a secure manner. The data needed for this is exchanged within a closed chain that solely comprises familiar parties. Only an authorised truck, rail or barge operator is able to pre-notify the container at the terminal and next collect it there. PIN codes are eliminated from the logistics process and can no longer be abused. In this way, parties are boosting the resilience of the port-logistics processes.
Visit www.secure-chain.eu to see how the Secure Chain works and which specific actions all parties are required to take.
Implementation via the Port Community System
The implementation of the Secure Chain runs via the Port Community System of Portbase, the neutral logistics platform for the Dutch ports. Besides increased security and reliability, this yields operational advantages as well. By optimising the digital collaboration, participants in the Secure Chain benefit from the smart reuse of data throughout the entire logistics chain and gain optimal insight into the status and planning of import containers.
Phased introduction
Millions of containers arrive at the port of Rotterdam every year. Shipping lines/ship agents have chosen to roll out the Secure Chain in a phased and controlled manner for their customers. In 2023, the focus is first on high-risk containers, especially from Latin America. The first 18,500 containers have now been successfully exempted and collected in the new way.
Broad support
The Secure Chain is an initiative of Deltalinqs, evofenedex, Fenex, GroentenFruit Huis, Portbase, the Dutch Association for Transport and Logistics, the Association of Rotterdam Shipbrokers and Agents and the Rotterdam Terminal Operators’ Association. The initiative is also supported by FERM, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Municipality of Rotterdam, Dutch Customs, Secure Logistics and the Seaport Police. (Almost) all deepsea shipping lines and the four major deepsea terminal operators in Rotterdam are concretely participating.
