In order to increase export competitiveness, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) of South Korea will offer to install Internet of Things technology on containers.
The roll-out was announced today, following the ministry’s successful conclusion of a two-year pilot project including the distribution of 4,160 modified containers to regional shipping firms.
IoT technologies monitor the location, condition, and, in the case of reefers, temperatures of containers. For each installation, subsidies of about $121, or 30% of the price, were given. According to the MoF, shipping companies will be able to determine the location and status of cargo when containers are digitalized, adding value for customers.
Shippers can receive regular updates on the location and status of their goods as well as temperature control services from shipping companies using IoT technology. Additionally, because it is challenging to detect containers in foreign ports, conventional accounting standards typically do not recognise containers as assets. However, with location tracking, shipping businesses may bolster their balance sheets with these assets.
Hong Geun-hyung, the ministry’s director of smart shipping and logistics, claimed that shipping accounted for 99.7% of import and export cargo transport in South Korea, with containers playing a key role in both. He continued by saying that the government was investing in new technologies for the logistics sector in order to simplify container transportation.
The trial project is a part of a government $6.6 million plan to create useable technology for smart containers, including sensors that can detect damage to boxes or improperly closed doors. Additionally, functions that can automatically modify reefer temperature will be examined. Such technology might keep refrigerated freight in top shape and deter theft.
