Time is money

Andrew Goldsmith of Rapiscan points out that if interruptions can be a problem then a system that won’t add to the bottlenecks is probably worthwhile.

Further, although the need to screen for radioactive materials put a spoke through the wheel as it tended to be set off by the action of the X-ray machines, the issue has largely been answered “by split second timing” says Mr Goldsmith, so that boxes don’t need to be put through two procedures. All this adds a lot to the cost, so the outlay has to be weighed up against efficiency “and many times a port doesn’t really need something incredibly sophisticated,” he says.

However, money can buy time. For example, Rotterdam’s rail gantry system avoids any impact on throughput as the train mounted boxes rush through a portal at 60km per hour without slowing down; it’s linked to a remote Customs desk positioned with enough of a buffer for the high resolution images to be analysed and the train stopped for further checks if need be.

Mobile scanners, on the other hand, are usually aimed at the more ‘budget’ end of operations but as the focus has begun to develop from simple gateway detection these units are coming into their own. For example transhipment cargo, which normally avoids the scanners placed at port entrances and exits, is now gaining a certain scrutiny and the US Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico has been producing mobile scanners specifically to scan for radioactive boxes on transfer between vessels.

So far these mobile devices are being picked up by the hotspots: the first four of Sandia’s scanners made their way to Panama at the end of last year with another set going to Oman. More are on their way however, and it may not be long before mobile scanners are a common sight at a number of transhipment ports.