New working method for sea freight from North America from July 1

A new, secure working system at the Port of Rotterdam means that from July 1, major shipping companies will no longer issue PIN codes to containers coming from North America. These will now be released without a pin code through Chain of Trust’s digital import container release process. A road carrier, inland shipping or rail operator can collect only one container from the North American shipping area after authorization through the aforementioned chain.

Introduced in phases

From March 31, 2024, all containerized cargo from Latin America is successfully, securely and reliably released via Chain of Trust. Since then, shipping companies/shipbrokers have gradually focused on cargo from other shipping regions, starting from North America. Eventually, the new safe working method will apply to all deep-sea containers entering the Port of Rotterdam.

chain of trust

Trust Chain is a joint venture between the business community and government agencies for the safe and reliable release and collection of containers in Dutch ports. It first takes place in Rotterdam. Through the shipping company/ship broker to the shipper/forwarder and the carrier, the chain of trust forms a closed chain with only known, designated parties. The use of pin codes will be discontinued. Only a carrier authorized by Chain of Trust can pre-announce his arrival at the terminal and collect the container there.

portbase

The trust chain operates largely digitally through Portbase, the port community system of Dutch ports. This process ensures that all chain parties in the Port of Rotterdam work more efficiently and cooperate better with each other. It also contributes to maintaining the security of port-related delivery processes.

Participating Shipping Companies

Shipping companies that are part of the trust include CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd (via Secure Container Release), HMM, Maersk, Marfret, MSC, ONE, OOCL, Yang Ming and ZIM. Due to the participation of all these deep sea shipping companies, there is a uniform system in the port of Rotterdam for safe and reliable release and collection of import containers without pin code.

Implementation in full swing

Things have changed in recent months for shippers, carriers and forwarders involved in importing containers through the Port of Rotterdam. More and more parties involved in importing containers have adapted their working methods – and sometimes their systems – to the new trust chain process. Every month, about 60,000 containers are now released by about 1,700 companies through TrustChain. It has more than 900 shippers and forwarders, nearly 800 carriers, 12 shipping companies and 5 terminals.

More info

Read more about how TrustChain works This page.