The Port of Antwerp (Belgium), Europe’s second largest port, is using biometrics for access control.
It has joined the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Europe’s largest, featured on these pages in January. By pre-recording the hand geometry of each participant onto the smart chip card, the HandReader product from Recognition Systems can verify that people entering and exiting the port are who they say they are, making fraud virtually impossible, according to the company. Ports worldwide must track access by staff and visitors across private terminals under the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) International Code for the Security of Ships and of Port Facilities (ISPS). In Antwerp, up to 20,000 dockers, truck drivers and visitors requiring access to one of Antwerpโs 71 terminals will be validated and recorded using the system. More than 8,000 credentials have already been issued. Bill Spence, Recognition Systems Director of Marketing, adds: โOur biometric-based solution improves security and safety as well as operating efficiencies.โ Recognition Systems is the biometric part of Ingersoll-Rand’s (IR) Security & Safety’s Electronic Control Systems.
