European Illicit Trafficking Countermeasures Kit

F a c t S h e e t

ICT F O R TRANSPORT A N D T H E E N V I R O N M E N T

EURITRACK European Illicit Trafficking Countermeasures Kit

95% of the world cargo is moved by ship corresponding to over 200 million containers per year exchanged between major seaports. As a result, the maritime industry must consider very seriously any potential threat for disruption of the trade.

Today, inspections of containers are largely based on X-or Gamma Ray systems but they provide limited information about contained objects such as their shape and density.

Controllers can not always distinguish between benign and threat materials and need additional information about the chemical composition of suspect items in order to detect illicit materials such as explosives, drugs or dirty bombs.

EURITRACK aims at increasing the security of the seaports by developing a Kit to non- intrusively detect explosives or other threat materials concealed in shipping containers.

The largest French container seaport (Le Havre)

I Objectives Description of the work The project will offer to end-users a very useful The structure of the project is mainly guided tool, more advanced than commercial-off-the- by the development of the prototype. shelf equipment in order to optimise the time We have chosen to divide the project into needed for inspection. work packages and tasks linked to the The system will consist of an innovative different parts of the prototype and to the Tagged Neutron Inspection System (TNIS) that different phases of its development. will non-intrusively permit an assay of the chemical composition of suspect contents The highest level of division is based on the located by X-Ray radiography. Software latter principle according to which five gross development is also a crucial part of the project classical phases of development can be since the innovation in the control system relies identified: on the combination of two complementary (a) requirements specifications; techniques. (b) design; An embedded information system will (c) development; implement decision-making algorithms taking also into account data from electronic seals. (d) tests and The complete concept will be validated in the (e) final Demonstration. largest French container seaport (Le Havre) by the end- users themselves : French Customs The third development phase has itself been as leaders of a European Custom Expert divided into three parts corresponding with the Group. three major parts or modules of the prototype: (i) TNIS;  To develop a system able to ascertain the presence or not of threat materials or smuggled (ii) Information System (IS) which is the goods without opening a 20 or 40 feet software part of the prototype; container.  To secure seaports and international trade face to terrorism threats.  To provide tools in the fight against illicit trafficking Project Reference: 511471  To help European Union (and Customs Start Date: 01 October 2004 Representatives ) to improve crisis Duration: 36 months management Project Cost: 4.20 Millions of Euros Contract Type: STREP End Date: 30 September 2007 Project Funding: 2.45 Millions of Euros

I (iii) portal / mechanics.

Participants:  Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique, CEA, France, [email protected]  Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare, INFN, Italy, [email protected]  Ruder Boskovic Institute, IRB, Croatia, [email protected]  Joint Research Center, JRC, Belgium, [email protected]  Andrzej Soltan Institute for Nuclear Studies, IPJ, Poland, [email protected]  Kunglika Tekniska Hogskolan, KTH, Sweden, [email protected]  Société Anonyme d’ Etudes et Réalisations Nucléaires, SODERN, France, [email protected]  Costruzioni Apparecchiature Elletroniche Nucleari, CAEN, Italy, [email protected]  Saphymo, SAPHYMO, France, [email protected]  Direction Générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects, DGDDI, France, [email protected]

Factsheet NN (September 2004)