The major container shipping lines/ship agents in Rotterdam will connect all their customers with container cargo from North America to the Secure Chain before the 1st of July 2024. Starting from this date, they will no longer issue PIN codes to this customer group. Import containers will only be securely and reliably released via the Secure Chain. This procedure has already been successfully implemented in practice for cargo from Latin America since the 31st of March.
Further implementation Secure Chain
In the second half of 2024, the shipping lines/ship agents will further extend the Secure Chain to other sailing areas. The ambition is to handle the import containers of as many customers as possible in Rotterdam using the new secure and reliable approach without a PIN code by the end of 2024. Ultimately, the Secure Chain will be in effect for all cargo.
The shipping lines/ship agents previously announced that they would give priority to connecting their top 100 customers; this will now take place in parallel with the introduction of the Secure Chain per sailing area.
Get ready!
Each shipping line/ship agent will individually contact their customers for participation in the Secure Chain. The Secure Chain works in a very straightforward manner, but does require action on the part of every link. Only inland operators (road, rail and barge) that have been authorised via the Secure Chain are able to collect containers at the terminals in Rotterdam.
Have you not yet been contacted by the shipping line/ship agent? Don’t wait, you can already start preparing right now! Following consultation between the shipping line/ship agent and the customer, import cargo can also already be handled via the Secure Chain ahead of the planning per sailing area. All the information you require is available at www.secure-chain.eu.
Participating shipping lines/ship agents
The shipping lines/ship agents participating in the Secure Chain are CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd (via Secure Container Release), HMM, Maersk, Marfret, MSC, ONE, OOCL, Yang Ming and ZIM. With the participation of all these deepsea shipping lines, the port of Rotterdam has one uniform operational approach for the secure and reliable release and collection of import containers without a PIN code.
Secure Chain
The Secure Chain is a cooperation between the business community and authorities to digitally boost the resilience of the port logistics processes. One of its most significant components is the more secure and reliable release and collection of import containers in the Dutch ports. In a closed logistics chain that solely comprises familiar, authorised parties, companies digitally pass on the authorisation to securely collect a container at the terminal to one another. Only an inland operator that has been authorised through the Secure Chain is able to pre-notify its arrival at the terminal and next gain access. The use of PIN codes, which are susceptible to potential abuse, is eliminated. To a great degree, the Secure Chain works via the Port Community System of Portbase, the neutral logistics platform for the Dutch ports.
