Virginia ports to use Savi Networks RFID system

The Virginia Port Authority has tapped Savi Networks to deploy a radio frequency identification-based system that aims to boost the security of cargo container shipments.

The system will be installed at the Norfolk International Terminals, the Newport News Marine Terminal and the Portsmouth Marine Terminal. Savi Networks’ RFID solution, which uses the company’s Web-based SaviTrak managed information service, will track the location and security status of tagged containers.

Savi Networks is a joint venture between Savi Technology, a Lockheed Martin company, and Hutchison Port Holdings. The venture has similar projects with several port authorities and terminal operators, according to the company.

In another security measure, the Virginia Port Authority said earlier this year that it is working with GE Security on a shipping container security project. GE will install fixed readers at terminal facilities to communicate with container security devices mounted in cargo containers. Container security devices magnetically adhere to the inside of a cargo container and register any opening of the container door, according to the authority.

The authority’s marine terminals handled nearly 16 million tons of cargo in 2005.