A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Container Tracking System for Port Louis Harbor: The Case of Mauritius

Everyday millions of containers circle the globe and 250, 000, 000 container movements are performed around the globe yearly through 220 ports. Approximately 2% of in-transit containers are physically inspected, while empty containers are rarely inspected. A serious container event could trigger a worldwide massive port shutdown. Government security officials recognize container shipments as one of the world's greatest security threats which press for dramatic improvements in air and maritime security. Port Authorities are striving to increase efficiency through effective supply chain management, while focus is being placed on control, visibility and security. This paper is based mostly on the possible implementation of an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) based container tracking system for Port Louis harbor. RFID will enable the identification of containers over long distances and in demanding environments such as the port area. This will help in real-time identification and tracking of containers, reaching new levels of traceability and control. Companies will know at any point in time, where their assets are and all movements at key locations will be recorded for eventual streamlining and optimizations. These will lead to a reduced capital costs and significant overall savings in the long run for Port Louis harbor. The implementation of this system however relies on a solid collaborative network to link the various stakeholders of Port Louis harbor, by taking into considerations the specificities of Mauritius which is strategically positioned in the Indian Ocean. SWOT Analysis and survey has been used for this study. Taking into consideration the benefits and constraints, recommendations were made as to the approach to adopt for its implementation. In the light of this research work, it was considered important to implement an RFID based solution in the port, after various RFID systems at international levels were studied and compared. The automated tracking and identification system will no doubt constitute another building block towards achieving the vision of turning Port Louis harbor into a maritime and logistics hub in the region. Keywords: Radio Frequency Identification, Tracking System, SWOT Analysis