Buenaventura Container Terminal Invests in Cargo Verification Systems

Colombia’s Buenaventura Container Terminal, part of Grup Maritim TCB, has implemented new optical character recognition and other systems for quay and yard cranes and for gate entry and exit. The new cargo verification system cost $3.5 million.

TCBuen implemented OCR operations at the end of 2011, concluding the complete installation in December 2012. The OCR software allows real-time traceability of all containers entering and leaving the terminal, capturing vehicle registration and weight. On the quay cranes and gates, it can recognize the alphanumeric container number and checks whether a container is scheduled and authorized for that operation.

Another system checks the loading cycles of containers and controls the movement of trucks passing through the gate, and a GPS-based system confirms via satellite that movements of containers correspond with movements that have been assigned.

Additionally, Grup TCB has launched a pilot project for software that verifies the positions of all containers aboard a ship via satellite. It will be implemented this month.