The carrier said in a statement that details of its RCM plans will be unveiled at the Fruit Logistica trade fair in Berlin, the world’s most important trade fair for fresh produce. An RCM uses satellite and mobile radio technology to monitor a container’s temperature profile, relative humidity and concentrations of oxygen and CO2 in real time. Furthermore, settings can be adjusted remotely. Credit: Hamburg Sud Unlike past monitoring systems, customers will be able to use an online platform or app on their phone or tablet to monitor the conditions of their cargo at any time. In addition, they will also receive a notification when individually defined parameters or limit values are reached. Hamburg Sud currently has 370,000 reefer containers, the largest of any carrier in the shipping industry, all of which have been retrofitted with RCM capability. It says it plans to launch the technology across its entire container fleet by the third quarter of 2019. Speaking about the potential of RCM in container shipping, Frank Smet, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Hamburg Sud, said: “RCM will be a genuine game changer for the important reefer market. “The added value lies in the fact that customers can use this data not only to monitor their supply chain better, but also to make it significantly more efficient and secure.”
Maersk subsidiary Hamburg Sud is retrofittng its entire fleet of 370,000 reefer containers with a Remote Container Management (RCM) system, which it plans to launch in Q3 2019. The RCM system will allow the container ship company to remotely monitor and control all aspects of cargo handling from start to finish.