New e-tags track container movements

THE FIRST container vessel to feature e-tags, a new tracking mechanism, sailed on March 10 from Shanghai in China to Savannah in the United States. The e-tag is installed on the latch of a twentyfoot- equivalent unit (teu) and records information throughout the transport process from delivery and off-loading to time of opening. All the information is transmitted through a wireless network to a website for monitoring. The tag is also able to send a warning signal if the container is illegally opened or tampered with. Developed by a research team in Shanghai, the e-tag is still under development and has yet to be rolled out to other countries. Currently one e-tag costs approximately US$7 (about R50) but the development team is hoping to cut down on costs and technological problems before launching the product worldwide.