Co-ordinated by Thales Research & Technology UK (TRT), the aim of SECCONDD has been to start the process of standardisation for the technical interface between a secure container or vehicle and a data reader at a port or border crossing.

Although the one-year project has now officially concluded, TRT technology manager Michael Naylor says:“We don’t see that we will leave it there.We want as a company to move it forward and we know our partners do,too.We have set some proposed standards and have a sound basis on which to move forward to the ISO, and we are looking to see if other companies are interested in participating.” TRT first started looking at the issue of port security in 2004.“We came to the conclusion that the weakest link in the whole supply chain was, in fact, the containers,”says Mr Naylor.

The company spent 2005/06 doing trials of commercial equipment and building its own prototype system, which it tested in partnership with freight forwarder Allport by shipping to various European destinations.

Next, TRT bid for the lead role in the SECCONDD project. “We knew it was very necessary to provide standards so that the market could work on a firm foundation rather than multiple proprietary standards,” says Mr Naylor.

“The ISO has been working for many years on electronic seals and we have been watching that closely. And we figured that we needed to take a step further than that, because an electronic seal on a container doesn’t solve the whole problem. “The issue is protecting the whole container and ensuring that any openings and closure of the doors are recorded properly.”

Having defined a candidate set of interface standards for a Goods Data Device (GDD), the plan is to move this on progressively towards ISO, says Mr Naylor.

“The ISO electronic seal is a small device that mounts on the outside of the container and replaces the current mechanical seal – i.e. it is an electronic version of the bolt,” he says. “SECCONDD is looking at much more detail. The GDD can be fitted inside the container and have long-range and short-range communication reading capability – long range to a service centre, and short-range via readers that will verify that the container is secure when it comes into port,for example.It provides a combination of security, both homeland and theft protection, coupled with visibility for the shipper of the cargo and throughout the supply chain.”