The major container shipping lines/ship agents in Rotterdam will connect all their customers with container cargo from North America to the Secure Chain before the 1^st of July 2024. Starting from this date, they will no longer issue PIN codes to this customer group. Import containers will only be securely and reliably released via the Secure Chain. This procedure has already been successfully implemented in practice for cargo from Latin America since the 31^st of March

In the second half of 2024, the shipping lines/ship agents will further extend the Secure Chain to other sailing areas. The ambition is to handle the import containers of as many customers as possible in Rotterdam using the new secure and reliable approach without a PIN code by the end of 2024. Ultimately, the Secure Chain will be in effect for all cargo.

The shipping lines/ship agents previously announced that they would give priority to connecting their top 100 customers; this will now take place in parallel with the introduction of the Secure Chain per sailing area.

Participating shipping lines/ship agents

The shipping lines/ship agents participating in the Secure Chain are CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd (via Secure Container Release), HMM, Maersk, Marfret, MSC, ONE, OOCL, Yang Ming and ZIM. With the participation of all these deepsea shipping lines, the port of Rotterdam has one uniform operational approach for the secure and reliable release and collection of import containers without a PIN code.

Secure Chain

The Secure Chain is a cooperation between the business community and authorities to digitally boost the resilience of the port logistics processes. One of its most significant components is the more secure and reliable release and collection of import containers in the Dutch ports. In a closed logistics chain that solely comprises familiar, authorised parties, companies digitally pass on the authorisation to securely collect a container at the terminal to one another.

Only an inland operator that has been authorised through the Secure Chain is able to pre-notify its arrival at the terminal and next gain access. The use of PIN codes, which are susceptible to potential abuse, is eliminated. To a great degree, the Secure Chain works via the Port Community System of Portbase, the neutral logistics platform for the Dutch ports.