Hapag-Lloyd Launching Real-Time Monitoring for Its Entire Fleet of 3 Million TEU Containers

Germany container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has announced plans to equip its entire container fleet with real-time tracking devices as it looks to become a “first-mover” in the use of the technology.

Hapag-Lloyd first introduced real-time monitoring of its approximately 100,000-unit reefer container fleet in 2019. With the success of the program, known as “Hapag-Lloyd LIVE”, the company has decided to install tracking devices on all of its approximately 3 million twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) capacity fleet of standard shipping containers.

“Going forward, we will be able to provide all our customers with real-time track and trace data, giving them full visibility of any container movement worldwide,” says Maximilian Rothkopf, COO of Hapag-Lloyd. “We will be able to detect delays earlier, inform impacted customers automatically and initiate counteractions at an early stage. We firmly believe that our real-time tracking approach will not only be beneficial for our customers but be a game changer for the entire container shipping industry.”

Hapag-Lloyd said the IoT devices will be able to transmit data on a real-time basis, helping to make supply chain more transparent and efficient. In addition to GPS-based location data, the technology will be able to measure temperature and monitor for any “sudden shocks” to the container, according to the company. Additional sensors could be added via Bluetooth in the future based on customer feedback.

For the safety of crews, other cargo, and vessels, the devices will be designed and certified to the ATEX Zone 2 explosion-proof standard.

“The shipping container monitoring device integrates the latest energy harvesting technology and low-power consumption techniques to ensure ultra-long lifetimes with high-frequency data sending. The container fleet will be equipped with devices both from established TradeTech partner Nexxiot AG starting this summer as well as with devices from ORBCOMM, a global leader in Internet-of-Things solutions, starting later this year,” Hapag-Lloyd said in a press release.

Hapag-Lloyd has been aggressively expanding its container fleet amid strong demand for container shipping during the pandemic, adding 210,000 TEU of standard and reefer containers since 2021. The company’s container fleet represents approximately 3.1 million TEU and includes an industry-leading fleet of modern reefer (refrigerated) containers.

“It is our vision to build the world’s smartest container fleet and to provide valuable information to our customers at the frequency they need,” said Olaf Habert, Director Container Applications at Hapag-Lloyd. “Working with the most advanced companies for global-scale IoT applications will help us to equip our container fleet as fast as possible. This is what our customers now require and increasingly expect so they can manage their complex supply chains better.”

Hagag-Lloyd ranks as the world’s fifth largest liner shipping operator with a fleet of 248 owned and chartered ships representing 1.7 million TEU capacity, according to Alphiner data.

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