“We know that the standard is set now and we know that the suppliers are starting to build them,” says Mr Jol. “Every new container built from today  will have two tags – one at the front and one at the back. And all containers will be converted in the future. It will come very quickly.”

SMDG has created the EDI messages to read both the electronic seals and the container tags, and all of the shipping lines have confirmed they will use them, says Mr Jol, managing  director of Salerno Container Terminal.

“Now,a lot of people have to do a lot of work.What do shipping lines want from us as terminals? We have to read these seals. Nobody likes to do it, nobody wants to find the money to do this investment, but we have to do it.”

Mr Jol says that while large ports already have sophisticated, and expensive, networks in place with automatic readers at the gate and on the cranes,smaller terminals such as Salerno are more likely to opt for hand-held readers at least while the introduction of electronic seals is in its infancy.