EuropePorts and LogisticsTech

German port now able to ID all containers coming on and off ships

The Port of Duisburg (Duisport), the world’s largest inland port, located near the confluence of Germany’s Rhine and Ruhr rivers, has developed what it calls a Rivergate, through which the ID of each container being loaded on, or unloaded from, a vessel is digitally recorded and compared with the ship’s loading list within seconds. The system also records the condition of each container, including the integrity of the customs seal, as it is handled.

Vitronic, which creates machine vision systems for the logistics and other industries, developed the system using high-resolution 12K cameras that the port tested on two cranes. The test indicated a recognition rate of almost 100%.

As a container passes the crane bridge, the system records the condition of the loading unit in high-resolution images. Several specially developed algorithms work in the background, making the data immediately available to the port’s crane management system and terminal operation system.

Rivergate will initially be used on a crane at the Duisburg Trimodal Terminal (D3T) at logport I in Duisburg-Rheinhausen and on a crane at the GWW terminal at logport II in Duisburg-Hochfeld. The camera systems will enable efficient and transparent condition documentation and recording in real time, even at night and in poor weather conditions.

Kim Biggar

Kim Biggar started writing in the supply chain sector in 2000, when she joined the Canadian Association of Supply Chain & Logistics Management. In 2004/2005, she was project manager for the Government of Canada-funded Canadian Logistics Skills Committee, which led to her 13-year role as communications manager of the Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council. A longtime freelance writer, Kim has contributed to publications including The Forwarder, 3PL Americas, The Shipper Advocate and Supply Chain Canada.
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