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SUCCESSFUL LAND-SEA GSM-GPRS-GPS CONTAINER MONITORING TRIALS SAIL INTO A COMMERCIAL REALITY!
by Stephen Lowe05-09-2007 |
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Article:
An international consortium has deployed a successful Land-Sea-Land trials of
the most advanced Intermodal Container tracking technology into a commercial
reality. The Trials conducted in South China Seas, between Singapore -Thailand -
China (Shanghai and Hong Kong) - Singapore during January-February 2007 were
independently monitored by the Singapore Technologies Education & Training -
Maritime Bureau.
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Cooperation between CargoTrax Ltd Finland, TriaGnoSys GmbH Germany,
ThermoKing Ingersoll Rand Corp USA, Hansabaltic Oy Finland, Pacific
International Lines - PIL Singapore, STET-Maritime Bureau Singapore, Maritime &
Ports Authority - MPA Singapore, Globaltrax Pte Ltd Singapore, AETOS Military
Police Singapore, has produced a successful credible end result.
The most important function in the Trials were to prove the efficacy of the
GSM<->GSM connectivity on mid-seas via Inmsarsat satellite, as well as the
seamless hand-over of GSM-over-Satellite to Terrestrial Transmitters whenever
the ship encounters Land GSM coverage, thus maintaining the global GSM
legalities.
The SECURED by CargoTrax® solution, which is based on Real Time GSM, GPRS and
GPS technology, allows 24x7 Global Anywhere-Anytime, Security Monitoring of
containers and of particular importance to Reefers (refrigerated containers),
monitoring of critical conditions that ensure the integrity of containerized
cargo, that can be worth up to US$10million.
The status of the cargo and the security of the container are constantly
monitored by a state-of-the-art, officially compliant RFID container door eSeal,
which transmits a 'heart-beat' pulse every 1.5 seconds to control centres, both
on the ship and on the ground, which can include, the consignee, the shipper,
the shipping company's headquarters, the ships' home port operator, or
government security services. If the e-seal is compromised in any way, a panic
alarm signal is transmitted immediately, as are changes in temperature,
humidity, vibration, light, and volumetric pressure, as well as levels of
oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
SECURED by CargoTrax® combines military-grade precision with existing
standards-based technology, providing the accuracy required by shippers and
government security services, while adding less than 2% to the cost of container
rental when the insurance premium discounts are taken into consideration. The
potential avoidence of consequencial losses due to variable factors, by constant
monitoring, is a major benefit to all parties in the entire end-to-end Supply
Chain.
A series of Pilot Trials conducted during August 2006 upto March 2007 was the
result of over four years of R&D, were initiated by Maritime & Ports Authority (MPA)
of Singapore, and monitored by the Singapore government owned STET-Maritime
Bureau, confirmed a 100% success...
The sea-trials were carried out on vessels owned and operated by MPA and by
Pacific International Lines (PIL) of Singapore.
The TEXEL® GSM-GPRS-GPS-RFID Black Boxes supplied by Globaltrax Pte Ltd of
Singapore, were installed onto ThermoKing Reefer and were interrogated several
thousand times during the sea voyage, giving a 100% successful return in
combined GSM-Satellite communications, with Aetos Military Police of Singapore
providing a credible security monitoring platform, supplied by Globaltrax Pte
Ltd of Singapore...
Sami Laine, Chairman of CargoTrax, said, "CargoTrax will enhance the safety
of the crew, the cargo, and the vessel, with continuous transparency, which in
turn means that marine insurance premiums may be reduced. Furthermore, the total
end-to-end visibility of the security of the container means that port and
security offici als will be able to process the shipments more quickly,
providing significant time savings."
Sami Laine continued, "A combination of the high levels of functionality and
the price performance benefits, will drive global adoption of this technology,
now available for commercial deployment. As a young Finnish company, we are
proud to be able to pioneer such a vital state-of-the-art global communications
concept in logistics and security."
Captain Andre Khir, Managing Director of STET Maritime Bureau, confirmed the
success of the trial. He said, "I am pleased to report that all the test
messages that were sent from various mobile phones and SIM cards via the network
on-board the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Survey vessel Mata Ikan
were captured and received, and correctly logged, by the picocell. It was
further confirmed that all the messages went through the satellite and were
received and logged at the Vienna ground station."
Secured by CargoTrax® operates by transmitting Real-Time data using
GSM-GPRS-GPS connectivity via the Maritime Satellite Gateway System MOGIS,
developed by TriaGnoSys. The ship-installation is described as CargoTrax -
Maritime Gateway (C-MaG). The information is transmitted simultaneously by both
GSM-SMS, Inmarsat, and over the Internet on SIM cards supplied by Hutchison
Telecom of Hong Kong, the second largest global telecoms operator..
According to Stephen Lowe, Chief Executive Officer of CargoTrax Ltd, We are
ready to Roll! This is a strategic move by CargoTrax to take SECURED by
CargoTrax®, an innovative, creative and versatile solution to commercialization.
I am particularly satisfied that STET MB, the leading organization in the
development of Supply Chain Security Standards, comes onboard in this
partnership. I am confident that we will collaborate in many other related areas
to further add value to SECURED by CargoTrax® to benefit the global container
shipping industry at large. We are pleased to announce that our commedrcial
sales & in stallations have already started with multinational organizations. We
invite shipping lines with own Reefer containers to contact us for special
pioneering concessions.
Capt Andre Khir, Managing Director, STET-MB shared the same vision and said,
the partnership enables STET MB to participate in the marketing of an advanced
technology product to enhance the safety and security of the containers and the
cargo within. This project is synergistic to our business scope in the maritime
and logistic industries and it will create further value chain to our customers
globally.
Dr Markus Werner, Managing Director of TriaGnoSys, said, "We are very pleased
that the verification tests met all the specified requirements for acceptance
tests of our Maritime Satellite Gateway System. We have developed a range of
solutions for remote air, land and sea communications via satellite, and the
success of this trial further endorses our position as a leader in our field."
Sami Laine added, "In order to capitalise on being far ahead of potential
competition, CargoTrax is seeking global partners, as well as professionals to
build an international management group. Our second generation product R&D is
firmly on-track and we are also seeking potential partnership support for next
round of funding."
-ENDS-
About CargoTrax
CargoTrax Ltd, a company based in Helsinki Finland, (name changed from
MobinTeleCom Oy), offers SECURED by CargoTrax® a state-of-the-art, comprehensive
Globally operational GSM-GPRS-GPS, RFID e-Seal, Multiple Sensors, End-2-End Real
Time, Live Tracking, Anywhere-Anytime, turnkey Supply Chain Logistics & Security
Monitoring Intermodal Container Security, giving 24x7 transparency and control.
SECURED by CargoTrax® Solution may meet the exacting demands of the EurepGAP
Protocol, to ensure the food supply-chain logistics to safeguard the EU consumer
from potential hazards.
SECURED by CargoTrax® may contribute to demands of the Long Range
Identification and Tra cking (LRIT), an IMO initiative
The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) at its 81st session in May 2006 adopted
new regulations for the LRIT together with associated performance standards and
functional requirements.
The new regulation on LRIT is included in SOLAS chapter V on Safety of
Navigation, through which LRIT will be introduced as a mandatory requirement for
the following ships on international voyages: passenger ships, including
high-speed craft; cargo ships, including high-speed craft, of 300 gross tonnage
and upwards; and mobile offshore drilling units.
The hardware solutions consist of the a GPRS-SMS Gateway Platform
commercialized by TriaGnoSys GmbH of Wessling, and the Triband/Quadband
GSM-GPRS-GPS-RFID-WiFi Telematics equipment with Volumetric Sensors, combined
with a high security Active Intelligent RFID Door Seal exclusively developed by
Globaltrax Pte Ltd for CargoTrax Ltd of Helsinki. The nominal costs of which may
be off-set by potential insurance discount considerations and giving a
peace-of-mind to the shipper/consignee of a high-value, easily
disposable/perishable, sensitive cargo.
Further information at
http://www.cargotrax.net/
About TriaGnoSys
TriaGnoSys, headquartered in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, a European centre of
excellence for satellite communications, is a leading Applied Research company
and a leading provider of solutions for remote air, land and sea communications
from anywhere to anywhere, via satellite.
TriaGnoSys researchers focus on a broad range of mobile satellite
communication areas in conjunction with leading academic, government and
industry researchers to advance the state of the art in such areas as mobile
end-to-end solutions, next generation satcom and aircom, and combined
navigation/communications applications and technologies. TriaGnoSys approaches
every project as an opportunity to go beyond expectations by providing solutions
that not only accomplish all objectives but also present new, commercial
possibilities.
TriaGnoSys' Mobility Gateways and Communication Servers (MOGIS) enable system
integrators and service providers in both civilian and military applications, to
leverage its unique high-speed, two-way transport capabilities and quickly
deploy reliable GSM, UMTS, WLAN, Satellite and RFID-based services anywhere in
the world.
Further information at
http://www.triagnosys.com/
About STET-MB
STET Maritime Bureau (STET MB), a subsidiary of ST Education and Training Pte
Ltd based in Singapore. It is a leading company in maritime security, supply
chain and marine consultancy services. STET MB is one of the largest maritime
security service providers, having certified the security plans of more than
3,900 ships and more than 90 ports facilities in Singapore and the region.
ST Education and Training Pte Ltd (STET), a subsidiary of ST Electronics
Conglomerate of Companies, is a leading company in education, training,
management and consultancy services in maritime, aerospace and land industries.
It is also a strategic training partner of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)
and a leading service provider in maritime and homeland security in this region.
http://www.stet.com.sg/
-ENDS-
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