Effective Container Checks Use Of Non-Intrusive Inspection

More than 90 million TEUs are handled annually in European ports. As this large number of containers means that only random checks can be carried out, the EU-funded project C-BORD (Effective Container Inspection at Border Control Points) was launched. Since 2016, the project partners have been developing solutions for Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII). 18 European companies, including technology developers, scientists and customs institutions, focused on the examination of containers to detect smuggling, drug trafficking or the transport of dangerous or illegal substances.

Important goals for the operational process at the terminals are:
• Increasing the throughput capacity of the containers per time unit
• Reducing the need for costly, time-consuming and hazardous manual container inspections
• Reduction of false negative and false positive alarm rates. C-BORD has used five technological solutions to enable the next generation of container NII at EU maritime and land borders.

The proof of performance was provided by tests in three application cases under real conditions at different border control points. A C-BORD toolbox and framework will help customs in the future to analyse the need for container NII, design integrated NII solutions and provide answers to important functional and safety issues.
Source: Fraunhofer CML