Shipping Australia: RFID is key to security

The 70-odd members of Shipping Australia, the peak industry body for ship owners and agents, have seen much of their customers' cargo delayed in recent weeks due to implementation problems with Customs' new Integrated Cargo System (ICS).

ICS is part of the government's ongoing plans to increase security and requires importers to submit more details on cargo than previously required in order to gain customs clearance.

RFID however is likely to aid the efficiency of clearing cargo as well as bolstering security, according to Shipping Australia's chief executive officer Llew Russell: "As the technology develops, we can expect RFID will play a greater role," he said.

According to Russell, container seals for cargo fitted with an RFID chip -- dubbed e-seals -- can operate without a battery and last for years. Because each seal would have a unique identifier, a broken or missing seal could indicate tampering.

"There are passive RFID [container] seals being developed in Australia, which are relatively cheap and can allow remote readers to indicate whether the container has been tampered with," said Russell.

Russell believes that without RFID technology, checking each container manually would be very expensive.

"The beauty of [RFID] is electronic readings -- if a container goes past the reader you don't have to physically check seals or seal numbers, which we've never been able to achieve in Australia. We don't do it simply because the costs would be horrendous," said Russell.

A recent trial of RFID container seals in New Zealand could help facilitate Australian efforts to implement such a technology, said Russell, who warned that compatibility between RFID readers and tags will require adherence to standards.

New Zealand Customs saw 500 e-seals tested by shipping, road and rail transport companies. Most of the pilot centred around trains that carried e-seal containers between Metro Port and the Port of Tauranga. Customs scanned the seals at both locations.

According to New Zealand Customs, and results were "very positive" and demonstrated that the e-seal would work in a real-world environment. The agency is now looking at using the e-seal to replace the current manually-applied seal.

Under its secure export program, businesses that apply to be trading partners with New Zealand Customs will be required to secure cargo with Customs-approved seals or markings.

Shipping Australia's Russell said his members would be "happy to use" the technology.

"The answer is clearly technology, and I think RFID seals offer one solution. At AU$4.50, including the cost of a seal, it's extremely cheap. That's an area that we will have under active consideration for the next 12 months or so," said Russell.