Albrecht Meeusen of the Association of Rotterdam Shipbrokers and Agents (Vereniging van Rotterdamse Cargadoors, VRC), Peter de Graaf of Portbase and Jan Janse of the Rotterdam Seaport Police are in full agreement: the close cooperation between the business community and authorities was essential to successfully connecting the deepsea sector to the Secure Chain. All three view it as the starting point for future development.
Albrecht Meeusen, Chairman VRC
‘Rotterdam mindset’
“Working together to tackle shared issues is very much part of the Rotterdam mindset. You won’t see this in any other port,” says VRC Chairman Albrecht Meeusen. “The introduction of the Secure Chain has only further strengthened companies’ sense of collegiality and their willingness to work together toward shared solutions. It is truly unique.” He explains that shipping lines and ship agents could never have achieved these results on their own. “First and foremost, every shipping line/ship agent of course wants their employees to have a safe working environment. However, no single company can change an established, chain-wide operational approach on its own. You need the entire chain to develop a suitable approach.”
‘Together, we have truly made the chain more secure’
According to Meeusen, the turning point came a few years ago when the authorities – under the leadership of Mayor Aboutaleb of Rotterdam – pushed for concrete action to combat crime related to undermining. “The solution created by Portbase next accelerated the process even further. Together, we have truly made the chain more secure. What matters now is to stay the course and continue to develop the Secure Chain.”
‘If we work together as a chain, the results are excellent’
Meeusen is convinced that the Secure Chain has laid the foundation for further public/private partnerships. “It has become even easier for parties to connect. We can also use this to find solutions for congestion expected in the port due to major road maintenance, for example, and to further increase the resilience of port logistics chains. The Secure Chain has shown that if we work together, the results are excellent.”
Managing Director Portbase, Peter de Graaf
Mutual trust and commitment, coupled with efficiency
For Portbase’s Managing Director Peter de Graaf, mutual trust and commitment, coupled with efficiency, have been the foundation for the success of the Secure Chain. “From the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Harbor Master and the Seaport Police to Customs and the Municipality of Rotterdam: everyone contributed to highlighting the need for more secure operations. The market responded well to this and effectively supported the initiative. From our neutral, central position in the port, we next created a workable solution for all parties and facilitated the entire process here at Portbase.”
The selected approach has proven highly effective, continues De Graaf. “Involving all stakeholders in every step created a very strong sense of urgency. The Secure Chain’s consistent sharing of interim successes also made the progress highly tangible. The commitment of ultimate decision-makers was very helpful as well. They actively contributed and deliberately chose to move forward at the same pace.” Essential to this entire process was the financial support from the Port Alliance Rotterdam, the National Growth Fund/Digital Infrastructure Logistics and the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
‘One of the most extensive change processes in its 23-year history’
For Portbase, the Secure Chain has been one of the most extensive change processes in its 23-year history. “In a short time, we’ve grown from approximately 4,500 to over 7,000 participating parties. Connecting and supporting everyone was a huge undertaking, especially for our support and sales teams. As more parties join, dependence on our services has also increased; the continuous availability, reliability and security of our platform are now more important than ever. To remain resilient and agile, we will invest even more in this in the future.”
‘The Secure Chain model can offer many benefits in the future as well’
The next step in the Secure Chain is the connection of the shortsea sector. Following that, the concept may be implemented elsewhere as well. De Graaf: “After all, Portbase supports all Dutch ports.” The managing director is also looking further ahead. “I believe that results-oriented collaborations like the Secure Chain and, before that, Get Ready for Brexit can yield substantial benefits in the future.” With its neutral position and wealth of accumulated knowledge, Portbase is happy to take the lead where appropriate.
De Graaf can already envision what the next public/private partnership could look like. “How can we work together to further boost the resilience of the ports? Should systems fail, then what do we deem acceptable? What are authorities and companies willing to invest in and what needs to be strengthened or redesigned? Based on discussions with public and private stakeholders, Portbase, in collaboration with FERM, has drawn up an initial blueprint of the current resilience of port logistics. As in the Secure Chain, we see this as the starting point for all parties to work together on the realisation of integrated, concrete and effective improvements.”
Head of the Seaport Police Rotterdam, Jan Janse
Textbook example of public/private partnership
Jan Janse, Head of the Seaport Police Rotterdam: “The Secure Chain is a textbook example of public/private partnership. For me, public–private cooperation means partners jointly taking on a project, investing in it together and, when necessary, going the extra mile to make it succeed.” This is exactly what happened regarding the implementation of the Secure Chain, he concludes. “As a result, both the port and the wider logistics chain have become demonstrably more secure.”
The business community took the necessary changes very seriously, continues Janse. “However, many parties were involved; naturally, it took time to get everyone aligned. Partly due to the involvement of Mayor Aboutaleb of Rotterdam, it became clear to everyone that action needed to be taken. Non-participation was not an option. Shipping lines quickly agreed to take measures, after which Portbase developed a solution.” The police chief notes that the major container terminals have demonstrably become more secure. Shipping line employees are approached less by criminals. “However, action is still required further down the chain in the future.”
‘We must be even more vigilant; criminals always look for the weakest link’
As a next step, it is therefore good that the Secure Chain is now also focusing on shortsea shipping. “We know that the routes are changing. Whereas cocaine used to be directly shipped from South America by deepsea vessel, drug shipments are now first moved from Brazil to Africa. We need to be even more vigilant about the high-risk lines. We haven’t made many large seizures in this sector yet, but criminals always look for the weakest link. As a company, you can of course choose to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. However, it’s much better to realise that you could be next and therefore decide to spring into action right now.”
‘Tackling criminal undermining requires more than just carrying out your own task’
“In the Port Alliance Rotterdam, we have just made new agreements together to further strengthen the port’s resilience,” says Janse, looking to the future. He notes that since its inception a few years ago, the expertise among all parties in this broad public/private partnership has significantly increased. “The actions that are currently planned are much more focused. We’re also seeing an increasing awareness among partners that just carrying out their own tasks is not enough to tackle criminal undermining. If that were the case, we would only focus on catching criminals as the police. However, we also have a whole team of specialists who observe how criminals operate. They next advise companies on risks and the measures they should take. Nowhere in the Police Act does it state that we are required to do this. Successes like the Secure Chain are essential to confirm that together, we are on the right track.”
