North P&I Club has issued warnings regarding the potential dangers of new technology used for cargo theft.
The digital technology has not only provided benefits to the shipping industry but also poses various threats. One such threat is the digital technology used for cargo thefts on ship.
- A thief generally opens the seal – steal the cargo – and replace the seal to hide their tracks.
- In many cases the theft is not discovered until the container is delivered to its final destination.
- It becomes very difficult to know when and where the incident happened.
According to the British International Freight Association (BIFA), 3D printers have been used by criminals to clone seals. They can be made within 10 minutes and traceability is near impossible. Identification marks can also be easily applied to the seal cylinder, making detection even more difficult.
Source: Nepia
