One key element of e-seal operation is their ability to be read speedily and accurately at the terminal gate, in order to instantly verify security, and this too is now being address at number of test sites.
Leghorn Security Seals is one specialist to have moved into this field, having developed an RFID system to read e-seals passing into or out of the port area. Its Janus-Gate, which uses a passive RFID in the 868MHz bandwidth, has undergone testing at DP World Antwerp since late 2012 (see WorldCargo News, May 2013, p33). The operation has achieved good results and been backed generally by the European Shippers’ Council.
Janus-Gate offers the capability of reading RFID seals as they transit, regardless of condition or position on the container. Its trial installation in Antwerp has resulted in the creation of several fast-track gate-lanes equipped with the readers, whereby trucks/containers fitted with the appropriate e-seals can be routed through more rapidly. More recently, at a demonstration in La Spezia, Leghorn unveiled a new electronic version of its Neptune bolt seal, utilising RFID. The aim is for the unit price to be kept down to a realistic leve, typically at less than €1, in order to compete with the pure-mechanical alternative.