Port of Pecém cargo scanning grows 30%

More than 50,000 cargo scans were carried out last year by the scanner installed in the storage yard of the Port of Pecém, located on the west coast of Ceará. With the 54,462 movements recorded in 2020, the average was 4,538 scans/month or 149 scans/day.

The Porto do Pecém scanner has been operating since 2013 and is used in 100% of containers imported and exported through the three long-haul routes that operate at the Ceará terminal. The scanning operation is done under exclusive monitoring by the Brazilian federal revenue service, including in empty containers. Today the equipment allows up to 60 inspections per hour.

Scans performed at the Port of Pecém

2020: 54,462

Dry: 44,802

Refrigerated (Reefer): 9,660

2019: 42,037

Dry: 37,056

Refrigerated (Reefer): 4,981

“Our scanner is vital for the full functioning of the port. It guarantees us the necessary security for handling containers that are loaded and unloaded here through Port of Pecém. In addition, we have monitoring cameras throughout the customs area. The images are stored and monitored by the federal revenue service, which determines the respective forwarding of the loads after a complete analysis. It is also important to note that Pecém, even though it is a port authority, does not have the power to open containers to inspect their contents”, points out Danilo Serpa, president of Complexo do Pecém (CIPP S.A.).

The importance of the equipment is being proven by authorities such as the federal revenue service and the federal police. In August 2019, for example, approximately 330 kilograms of cocaine were found in a container heading for Europe. The detection took place after the scan by the Federal Revenue Surveillance and Repression Team (EVR), who were cracking down on a criminal practice known as rip-off loading, whereby the drugs are inserted into regular cargo without the exporter’s knowledge.

Scanning for suspicious vehicles

The scanner used in the storage yard of Port of Pecém also reinforces inspections on state and federal highways that cut through the Pecém Complex. PRE (state highway police) and PRF (federal highway police) have the equipment to check suspicious vehicles traveling through the region.

“In March 2019, the PRF intercepted a pickup truck on highway BR-222 and then brought the vehicle to be scanned at the Port of Pecém. After scanning, the presence of narcotic material in the fuel tank of the vehicle was verified. The driver was arrested, caught in the act of drug trafficking, and sent to the Federal Police headquarters in Fortaleza. In April and November last year, the PRF escorted two other vehicles to get scanned, but in both cases, no narcotics were detected”, recalls Nicolau dos Santos, manager of Property Security at the Pecém Complex (CIPP S.A.).

See the chart below to see cargo handling via Port of Pecém since 2017:

Imports and Exports via Port of Pecém | Jan 2017 to Nov 2020 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (To request a DataLiner demo click here)

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