Global Intelligence Note · end, delaying shipments of everything from French wine to pet food. After the Pride of York ferry sailed into the Belgian port of Zeebrugge from Hull in

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Formerly known asFreightWatch International

SUPPLY CHAININTELLIGENCE CENTER

Global Intelligence Note25 May 2018

The SensiGuard ™ Supply Chain Intelligence Center (SCIC)

presents a summary of major incidents and news articles

relating to cargo theft and intelligence for the week ending

25 May 2018.

EMEA

Europe .....................................................................................1

Egypt ........................................................................................1

United Kingdom .......................................................................2

Germany ..................................................................................2

Italy ..........................................................................................3

Nigeria ......................................................................................3

South Africa..............................................................................4

Kenya .......................................................................................4

Africa ........................................................................................5

APAC

China/The Netherlands .............................................................5

China ........................................................................................5

India .........................................................................................5

North & South America

Brazil ........................................................................................6

Mexico .....................................................................................6

U.S. & Canada .........................................................................7

EMEA

Europe25 May 2018: The proposal of the European

Commission to revise the 1999/62/EC Directive

on the charging of road vehicles is one step

closer with the approval by the European Council

of the vast majority of proposed compromise

amendments. With the revision of the directive, road freight

is to be charged on a more equal basis with rail freight. Road

charges are currently only applied to trucks on about 20-25%

of the European network. This is a point of frustration for the

rail freight industry, as railway operators pay distance-based

charges on all railroads.

Read more: RailFreight.com

Egypt22 May 2018: Egypt has announced plans to

build a railway line offering an alternative to the

Suez Canal. The line will connect the Port of

Alexandria and Damietta on the Mediterranean

coast to the Port of Nuweiba on the Red Sea. It will be the first

land bridge between the Mediterranean and Red Sea, as well

as a new railway connection between North Africa and the Arab

Peninsula.

Read more: RailFreight.com

sensitech.com SCIC Global Intelligence Note 25 May 2018 2

United Kingdom23 May 2018: Thieves have stolen £200,000 of

CCTV and security equipment from the trailer of a

truck which was parked in a layby on the A14 near

Stowmarket. The truck driver was woken up at

around 3.30am by a noise outside the truck, and

when he went outside he was confronted by a male suspect.

The driver then got back into the cab and drove off; once he

had reached a safe distance away, he stopped to call police. It

was then discovered that the CCTV and security equipment had

been stolen from the trailer.

20 May 2018: The free movement of goods

between the U.K. and European Union may

end, delaying shipments of everything from

French wine to pet food. After the Pride of York

ferry sailed into the Belgian port of Zeebrugge

from Hull in the U.K. earlier this month, dozens of cargo

containers were offloaded and whisked away on trucks. The

hundreds of passengers weren’t as lucky: they had to line up for

border checks. Brexit risks putting U.K. freight in the slow lane

as well. For now The U.K. is part of the European Union’s single

market, which ensures the free flow of goods across national

borders while being outside the bloc’s common travel zone. With

Brexit due in 10 months, Zeebrugge embodies the repeated

warnings by the U.K.’s EU partners that its departure from the

bloc is a lose-lose move by adding bureaucracy for businesses

and costs for consumers.

Read more: Bloomberg

18 May 2018: Plans to ease traffic for

residents and businesses in Kent in the

event of cross-Channel disruption have

been unveiled by the Roads Minister, Jesse

Norman. The new plans for ‘Operation Stack’ will allow traffic to

travel in both directions between junctions 8 and 9 while trucks

are being queued for the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel. That

means drivers can access these junctions, rather than being

diverted onto smaller local roads. This will be made possible

using a contraflow on the northbound carriageway, which will

be available for use by early 2019, if there is ever disruption

to cross-Channel traffic and trucks have to be queued. The

Department for Transport is also setting out plans to improve

overnight lorry parking, so that fewer trucks will be left on local

roads or parked in laybys overnight.

Read more: Gov.uk

Germany24 May 2018: Nine trucks parked at Parkplatz

Schlochau Ost on the A7 in Northeim (Lower

Saxony) had their trailer curtains cut. As the

drivers slept, criminals slashed the curtains to

check the cargo onboard the trailers. Only cargo from one truck

(several boxes of glycerin valued at approximately €8,000) has

been reported as stolen. The damage to the nine trucks is also

estimated to be around €4,500.

Read more: PressePortal (Germany)

21 May 2018: The port of Hamburg’s inability to

maximise ship loads is causing it to fall further

behind neighbouring container terminals in

Northern Europe. The impact of the river Elbe’s

draught restrictions has become more pronounced with the

advent of larger vessels, which cannot maximise capacity—as

the port’s latest quarterly results show. First-quarter figures from

the German gateway show virtually flat growth (up 0.7%, 1.9m

teu), while Antwerp was up 10.7%, 2.7m teu, and Rotterdam

was up 6.1%, 3.5m teu.

Read more: The Loadstar (U.K.)

17 May 2018: Managers of insolvent P&R Group

are being investigated after it was discovered

the investment firm sold nearly one million

more shipping containers than it owned. Once

the world’s biggest lessor of shipping containers, P&R sells

containers to investors and its sister company in Switzerland

rents them out to shipping companies. P&R later buys back the

containers from investors. P&R, which is based near Munich,

has sold some 1.6 million containers to around 54,000 investors

for a total of $3.5 billion (USD $4.12 billion). But a tally made

after its German units filed for insolvency earlier this year has

shown that P&R only has a fleet of around 600,000 containers.

Read more: gCaptain.com

sensitech.com SCIC Global Intelligence Note 25 May 2018 3

Italy 24 May 2018: A 60-year-old man was

arrested in Ottaviano (Campania) by the

Carabinieri, as he was held responsible for a

robbery carried out on 12 December 2017

against a road haulier. The military carried out the arrest warrant

issued by the judge of the Court of Naples North. The victim

was aboard his truck on which he carried beer yeast for a value

of €60,000. At the exit of Casoria on the A1 motorway he was

stopped by some armed bandits and robbed of the cargo. The

semi-trailer was then found in the municipality of Tufino. The

investigations were initiated thanks to the declarations of the

truck driver, and then continued with interceptions and tracking.

The other bandits are still to be identified.

Read more: Il Fatto Vesuviano (Italy)

22 May 2018: A huge theft of metallic material was

carried out against a company in Brendola. It was

discovered when owners and employees arrived at

the plant to start a new week of work and found

the gates open. Inside the building, there was no longer a box

full of brass chips of valued greater than €50,000.

Read more: Il Giornale di Vicenza (Italy)

19 May 2018: Criminals broke into a

warehouse facility in Grosseto (Tuscany) and

stole Pharmaceuticals (mainly cancer drugs)

worth an estimated €3,000,000. It is believed

that this theft was well-planned and carried out by a professional

gang. The criminals gained entry through the only spot that was

not covered by the alarm, so it is believed that they would have

spent some time before observing and working this out. As a lot

of Pharmaceuticals require storage and transport within certain

temperature parameters, it is likely that the gang had their own

refrigerated truck to transport them.

Read more: Il Tirreno (Italy)

17 May 2018: The driver of a delivery truck

which contained a full shipment of fertility

medications destined for the United States

was kidnapped near the town of Bari

(Apulia). The driver of the truck was released some hours later

by the criminals. The truck was eventually found abandoned,

using GPS, by the Italian Police. The shipment remains missing.

The brand names of the product stolen are Gonal-f® RFF Redi-

ject® and Gonal-f® RFF Multi-Dose 1050 and 450 and they

are manufactured by EMD Serono, Inc. for U.S. distribution.

The products stolen are all injectable products (one is in the

form of a “pen”) and are temperature controlled medications.

There were a total of 16,457 individual pieces in the shipment.

Any information you may have to assist in this incident please

contact Kimberly Fleming, Director, Mature Brand LCM and

Secure Operations, EMD Serono, Inc. Phone: +1-781-681 2118

E-mail: [email protected].

Source: PCSC

Nigeria 20 May 2018: Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside,

Director General of the Nigerian Maritime

Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),

has stated that security in the Nigerian Maritime

domain is a work in progress that requires the

commitment of all stakeholders to ensure optimum safety of

all investments in the sector. Speaking to journalists in Lagos,

Dr. Peterside stated that the Agency is taking the lead on the

issue of maritime safety in the entire West and Central African

sub-region noting that safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea

has a direct impact on the Nigerian economy. The NIMASA DG

noted that there are a lot of factors that contributes to the cost

of products coming into the country through the seas, which

makes it very important to tackle insecurity in the waterways.

According to the DG “we must ensure the security of the Gulf of

Guinea because Nigeria is not isolated from whatever happens

in the region which may lead to negative economic impact, or

increase in the cost of insurance or war premium insurance and

ultimately lead to high cost of goods and services which will be

borne by the consumer of the goods and services”.

Read more: Sundiata Post (Nigeria)

sensitech.com SCIC Global Intelligence Note 25 May 2018 4

South Africa23 May 2018: An alleged member of a truck

hijacking syndicate is behind bars after Durban

Metro Police swooped in on a warehouse in Sea

Cow Lake. A Durban Metro police spokesperson

said a truck was hijacked on the M7 near

Pinetown. Police had worked with a vehicle tracking company

throughout the night, and located the truck the next morning in

oThongathi. Stolen from the truck was a pallet of beer that was

worth between R1.5 million to R2 million (€103,375-137,834).

The owner of the warehouse admitted to purchasing the stolen

product from the truck driver. Metro Police officers arrested the

man for receiving and purchasing known stolen goods. In a

twist to the story, police had found out that the truck driver was

allegedly part of the syndicate. He had opened a false case of

hijacking.

Read more: Independent Online (South Africa)

23 May 2018: A man sustained minor injuries in

what was believed to be an attempted Cash-in-

Transit heist on the N3 before the Marlboro off-ramp

in Johannesburg. When paramedics arrived on

scene, the man was receiving treatment from other emergency

services. He sustained minor wounds to his arm. Three more

men, all believed to be between the ages of 20 and 50, did not

sustain injuries. Two of the men were traveling in the Cash-in-

Transit van and two more men were in a security vehicle when

shots were fired at them. It is believed that the suspects involved

in this incident fled the scene.

Read more: Search SA (South Africa)

22 May 2018: Not even a police station opposite

the Jabulani Mall in Soweto could deter the latest

brazen Cash-in-Transit heist, which took place in

broad daylight and resulted in a woman being shot.

Ironically, this robbery took place on a day when five suspects

arrested in connection with last week’s daring Cash-in-Transit

heist appeared in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court. In the latest

incident, Gauteng police spokesperson said a group of men

ambushed a cash van belonging to a security company at the

mall in the morning and made off with an undisclosed amount of

money.

Read more: Independent Online (South Africa)

22 May 2018: Two houses were raided and four

people, including a couple, were arrested for

being in possession of “huge amounts” of money

suspected to be linked to Cash-in-Transit robberies.

The Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) received a tip-

off that there was a couple keeping “a considerable amount of

cash” in a house in Tsakane. Upon the EMPD’s arrival at the

house, the couple alleged that they were keeping the money

for an SBV employee. SBV is a Cash-in-Transit company. This

discovery comes after several Cash-in-Transit robberies in and

around Gauteng.

Read more: Sowetan Live (South Africa)

Kenya24 May 2018: Thirty Kenyan police officers will

soon travel to China to participate in a four-

week training on railway security funded by the

Chinese government. Economic and Commercial

Counselor Guo Ce of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya hosted

a farewell luncheon for the police officers and stressed that

enhanced security is key to smooth operation of Kenya’s

Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) launched on 31 May 2017.

“We are delighted to see that the Kenyan government and the

Chinese operator have recently incorporated stringent security

measures to curb insecurity and crime. At present, the SGR

passenger and cargo operations are in good conditions,” said

Guo.

Read more: XinhuaNet (China)

21 May 2018: Transport between Changamwe

and Mombasa Island was paralysed after a cargo

train hauling some 250,000 litres of super petrol

derailed as it negotiated a sharp bend near the

Kibarani flyover. The derailment caused a major spillage of the

highly inflammable fuel forcing the government to close the

Makupa Causeway which is the main link between Changamwe

mainland and the Island at Makande. The train was hauling

sixteen wagons of fuel. The oil spillage has been contained and

the process of decanting the fuel has begun. The cause of the

derailment has not been established.

Read more: Mediamax (Kenya)

sensitech.com SCIC Global Intelligence Note 25 May 2018 5

Africa23 May 2018: Oceans Beyond Piracy released its

review for 2017, and the numbers show that pirate

attacks remain a serious threat off the Horn of

Africa, the coast of Latin America, and in the Gulf of

Guinea. Off the coast of East Africa, the number of

pirate attacks in 2017 was double the number the year before.

“Pirate activity in 2017 clearly demonstrates that pirate groups

retain their ability to organize and implement attacks against

ships transiting the region,” said Maisie Pigeon, the report’s

lead author. In addition, the high rate of piracy and maritime

kidnapping in the Gulf of Guinea continues unabated. “Kidnap-

for-ransom continues to plague the region, which is a trend that

has unfortunately continued from 2016,” said Pigeon.

Read more: The Maritime Executive

APAC

China/The Netherlands24 May 2018: Transit times on the railway

service between Chengdu in China and Tilburg

in the Netherlands may be reduced to fourteen

days, as alternative border crossings between

Kazakhstan and China are considered by Chinese rail operator

CDIRS. The service currently takes around fifteen days. “The

Chinese-Kazakh border crossing of Alas Hankou and the

Belarus-Polish border crossing of Malaszewicze are currently

congested. The containers on the train have to be unloaded and

change wagons due to gauge and customs zone differences.

As most trains pass through these border points, containers

are stalled for three to four days. We have to find alternative

crossings in to ease congestion”, explained Jialu Zhang,

representative of CIPI (Chengdu International Port Investment

and Development Group), the mother company of CDIRS

(Chengdu International Railway Service).

Read more: RailFreight.com

China17 May 2018: Chinese robotics company

TuSimple plan to use port automation as a

proving ground for over-the-road autonomous

trucks. By the end of this year, it will have 20

of its self-driving vehicles carrying containers

around the port of Caofeidian, China. Caofeidian, a district of the

city of Tangshan, is best known as a bulker port and the home

of an abandoned eco-city project. It is also home to a 300,000

TEU container terminal large enough that TuSimple can test

its technology in a realistic environment. Many other terminals

already use robotic trucks to carry containers within the bounds

of the facility site. However, Caofeidian may be the first port to

test fully self-driving, over-the-road truck systems.

Read more: The Maritime Executive

16 May 2018: Six people went missing after a

cargo ship sank at sea off East China’s Fujian

Province. Eleven crew members aboard the

cargo ship fell into the water 1.8 nautical miles

off the Coast of Tangyu Island of Fuzhou City. Five people have

been rescued, but six others remain missing.

Read more: XinhuaNet (China)

India25 May 2018: To protest against the sky-high

fuel prices of recent days, Trinamool Congress

and Trinamool Youth Congress are together

organising a state-wide protest. It will consist

of marches in every district across the state,

including in Kolkata. In Kolkata, there will be a march from

Subodh Mullick Square to Park Street, and it will be organised

by Trinamool Youth Congress. Prices of petrol and diesel have

touched all-time highs, having shot up in the past nine days.

Read more: New India Express

sensitech.com SCIC Global Intelligence Note 25 May 2018 6

North & South America

Brazil23 May 2018: Police arrested seven

members of a gang that robbed cargo

loads in Minas Gerais. The criminals stole

a load of coffee on 9 May in the city of San

Francisco de Paula. Strongly armed, they caught the vigilantes

of a cooperative and took about USD $62,500 in coffee (475

sacks). The product was transported on a truck stolen by

bandits and sold weeks later to a receiver of stolen goods.

Three other members of the gang are still wanted.

Read more: Hoje em Dia (Brazil)

23 May 2018: Police recovered a cargo of 800

gas cylinders valued at USD $156,250. The cargo

was stolen in the region of Campestre, Goiás

state. The driver was taken and kept in captivity by

the bandits, but was later released. According to

the sheriff of the region, the integration among the police forces

in the fight against cargo theft and pilferage in the state of Goiás

has led to the decrease of this type of crime and the quick

resolution of the cases.

Read more: O Anápolis (Brazil)

May 2018: Freelance truck drivers have

blocked all or part of several highway points

across the country as they protest against the

increase in diesel prices. Protests have caused

major impacts on the supply chain—there

are a lot of gas stations in many cities without fuel; several

cities have reduced bus fleets (public transport); and airports

have run out of fuel for aircraft. This has also caused crises for

delivery of food in supermarkets and medicines in hospitals;

companies have shut down, agricultural production has been

interrupted, and garbage collection halted in some cities. Cargo

transportation is also hampered, and the level of risk for freight

in transit has increased. There were even reports of vandalism

and cargo thefts of in-transit trucks. Companies are avoiding

loading and the recommendation is to halt shipments until the

protests diminish.

Mexico22 May 2018: Glancing constantly at his rear view

mirror, truck driver “El Flaco” journeys the highways

of Mexico haunted by the memory of when he

was kidnapped with his security detail by bandits

disguised as police officers two years ago. Truckers

covering Mexico’s vast territory often move in convoys to reduce

the risk of robberies, which in 2017 almost doubled to nearly

3,000. Some drive with armed escorts traveling alongside them.

Others remove the logos from their trucks. The problem is part

of a wider Latin American scourge of highway robbery that

acts as a further drag on a region long held back by sub-par

infrastructure.

Read more: Reuters

22 May 2018: Police officers came across an

abandoned trailer on highway MEX150D. A

witness in the area informed them that six men

had forced the driver of the abandoned vehicle

out of his truck, beaten him, and taken him in the

direction of a nearby river. Fortunately, the driver was found and

given the necessary medical attention, however police have not

been able to locate the criminals. The driver was transporting 27

tons of salt valued at approx. $200,000 MXN at the time of the

assault.

21 May 2018: Following the arrest of a group

of four individuals aboard a stolen tractor, the

resulting police investigation led officials to a

property in Amozoc, Puebla where they located

sixty stolen vehicles. Among the vehicles were twenty-seven

trailers loaded almost to full capacity with a variety of stolen

goods. The merchandise ranged from home appliances, like

refrigerators and stoves, to food and drinks.

19 May 2018: Mexican railways in Veracruz

have suffered yet another loss at the hands of

local criminal groups. A train travelling through

Orizaba, Veracruz was derailed when criminals

cut the brake system in an attempt to steel its cargo. The

train was transporting approximately 980 tons of wheat and

corn when it collided with another set of stationary freight

wagons, damaging a total of 39 wagons, 4 locomotives, and

5 neighboring houses. The extensive damage has significantly

disrupted supply chains.

sensitech.com SCIC Global Intelligence Note 25 May 2018 7

18 May 2018: Three men attempted to rob an

armored truck outside a grocery store in Iztapalapa.

One of the men had arrived at the site two days

earlier, posing as a street vendor, to stake out the

area. The day of the incident, another individual overpowered

one of the two guards, and both parties engaged in a shootout.

When police arrived, they were able to follow one of the

criminals to a nearby house where they recovered part of the

money that had been stolen. His partner was wounded and

had to be transferred to a nearby hospital, while their lookout

was shot and killed on site. The truck was transporting over

$2,000,000 MXN, but authorities have not disclosed the amount

that was actually stolen and recovered.

18 May 2018: During a routine patrol along

highway Puebla-Córdoba, police came across

a group of armed men near a vehicle with

emergency lights. When they approached the vehicle, the group

of men opened fire on the officers. The criminals managed

to escape, but police were able to seize a military-grade rifle,

bulletproof vests, and false police license plates, all of which

were being used by the criminals to pose as police officers

to set up fake checkpoints where they would intercept cargo

vehicles.

U.S. & Canada23 May 2018: A longtime employee at a British

Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch warehouse in

Vancouver was arrested at work in connection with

the theft of $100,000 worth of alcohol after a four-

month internal investigation. The stolen goods were described

as “boxes and boxes” of hard liquor, totaling about 1,000

bottles.

Read more: CBC News

22 May 2018: There were 115 cargo thefts in

the United States in the first quarter with an

average loss value per incident of $117,283,

according to the SensiGuard Supply Chain

Intelligence Center. Thirty states, the Bureau of Indian Affairs,

and the National Institutes of Health submitted cargo theft data

in the UCR in 2016, according to FBI’s 2016 Crime in the United

States report. In general, nonparticipating states have not made

technical changes necessary to report the thefts in the UCR

code, or they may not have the resources to conduct data

quality checks on incidents associated with cargo theft, the FBI

notes. Still, the SensiGuard report provides a valuable view of

major trends and events in the cargo theft arena.

Read more: Transport Topics

22 May 2018: Four individuals convicted of

participating in a wide-ranging conspiracy to

steal truckloads of high-value merchandise

traveling in interstate commerce were

sentenced in federal court in New Albany,

Indiana. A 23-count indictment alleging that between 2012

and 2015, the members of the conspiracy traveled from

various locations throughout the United States to Virginia,

Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio,

Oklahoma, Tennessee, and other U.S. States in order to steal

property being transported in interstate commerce by semi-

tractor trailers. Members of the group would then transport the

stolen trailers full of merchandise to locations in Kentucky, New

Jersey, Florida, and elsewhere, and sell the stolen merchandise

for financial gain. The court heard that the co-conspirators

would travel long distances to reconnoiter distribution facilities

used by various national companies to distribute high-end

electronics, clothing, pharmaceuticals and cigarettes, among

other products.

Read more: Wisc24.com

21 May 2018: A group representing the vast

majority of the world’s ship owners said world

trade is at risk if issues surrounding new fuel

rules aren’t resolved quickly, providing the

starkest warning yet as to the potential impact

of regulations that are due to enter into force in less than two

years’ time. Starting January 1, 2020, the world’s ships will

need to use fuel that contains no more than 0.5% sulfur, or be

fitted with kit to remove the pollutant, under rules set out by the

International Maritime Organization.

Read more: Bloomberg

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30 May 2018

16 May 2018: A funny thing happened to an

older generation of Boeing Co. 747 jumbo jets

on their way to dusty oblivion in desert parking

lots. Instead of being scrapped, the humpbacked

planes are back in demand as workhorses of global shipping.

Booming trade is stoking the need for big, long-range jets to

haul time-sensitive goods, from smartphones made in China to

fresh flowers grown in Latin America.

Read more: Bloomberg

14 May 2018: Once at the mercy

of shippers, truckers now are

turning the tables, thanks to

surging freight demand and a shortage of drivers. Gone are the

days when customers used reliability scorecards to reject some

truckers and kept others waiting for hours with no place to

take a break but portable canopies and grimy restrooms. Now,

companies such as Nestle SA are rushing to make drivers feel

welcome, and shippers that hinder rigs from quick turnarounds

or treat operators shabbily are paying a premium.

Read more: Transport Topics

14 May 2018: On June 5-7, the Commercial

Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International

Roadcheck will take place. This is the annual

72-hour period when commercial motor vehicle

inspectors conduct inspections on motor vehicles

and drivers. It should come as no surprise that the focus of this

year’s Roadcheck will be hours of service (HOS) compliance.

With the recent full enforcement of the electronic logging device

mandate, it makes sense that this is what CVSA chose as its

focus. And while the ELD mandate did not change the hours of

service rules, it did help shed light on compliance with the HOS

regulations.

Read more: FleetOwner