US Lawmakers Demand Answers from Chinese Crane Manufacturer Over Port Security Concerns

Key members of the House Homeland Security Committee are seeking answers from Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), a firm with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), amid growing concerns about the security of U.S. ports.

The request comes as part of a joint investigation into the usage of ZPMC-manufactured cranes in American ports, revealing potential vulnerabilities in the critical maritime infrastructure.

The investigation, led by House Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green (R-TN), Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), and House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI), has unearthed alarming findings regarding ZPMC’s affiliations with the CCP. This scrutiny follows revelations that CCP-affiliated hackers had long-term access to crucial U.S. infrastructure sectors, including maritime operations.

Central to the lawmakers’ concerns are discoveries of unauthorized cellular modems in the ship-to-shore (STS) crane components at a U.S. seaport, and a similar modem within a server room integral to the operation of these cranes. The modems, found to be actively connected to the cranes’ operational mechanisms, were not part of the original contracts between ZPMC and the U.S. ports, casting doubts on their purposes and origins.

The bipartisan group of lawmakers, which also includes Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) and members Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and Rep. Michelle Steele (R-CA), has expressed grave concerns over the potential for every U.S. seaport equipped with ZPMC cranes to be compromised by CCP-related activities.

Their letter to ZPMC seeks detailed information on any directives from the CCP regarding maritime equipment in the U.S., the involvement of ZPMC personnel with the CCP, and the nature of ZPMC’s engagements with entities that may pose risks to U.S. foreign policy and national security interests.

The action follows a comprehensive eight-month investigation, engaging U.S. maritime ports and federal law enforcement to assess the scope of ZPMC’s potentially unauthorized additions to its cranes and infrastructure, which do not appear to support operational functionality. These findings echo concerns from a 2021 FBI discovery of intelligence-gathering equipment on a vessel delivering ZPMC cranes to the Port of Baltimore, raising suspicions of espionage and cyber espionage efforts aimed at compromising U.S. maritime critical infrastructure.

Amid these security challenges, the Biden Administration has been active in promoting initiatives to enhance maritime cybersecurity, including a $20 billion investment to return domestic onshore crane manufacturing capacity to the U.S. President Biden also recently issued an executive order bolstering the U.S. Coast Guard’s ability to address maritime cyber threats.

The push comes at a crucial time as the U.S. seeks to counter pervasive cybersecurity threats, foreign intelligence risks, and supply chain vulnerabilities attributed to the influence of the CCP in the maritime sector.

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