Before the tide turns a vessel must have a full load of vehicles and other Ro-Ro cargo on board - plus a 100% accurate manifest.

In 2000 a shipping line approached Codeway about data capture equipment to track vehicles loaded on to its ferries at the 'port of load' and an unloaded at the 'ports of discharge'.

Original solution

The solution was to apply a barcode label to each vehicle on arrival at the 'port of load', 150 handheld Dolpin terminals to scan the barcodes, and Codetrack software to track movements and control the data capture process.

The project manager commented, "The Dolphins enable us to maintain up-to-date details of cargo activities, combined with a reliable verification of the cargo details. We will continue to develop their use in the future to cover other aspects of our operations."

Today

Today port operators round the world use Codetrack to handle vehicles and other Ro-Ro cargo. Codetrack exchanges data with the car booking system operated by the shipping line. In France Codetrack communicates with 'AP+' the French Customs system.

Vehicle storage and services at the port are an important part of the system but the accuracy of the ship's manifest is critical. Loading can continue to the last minute but the port of discharge will refuse a vehicle that is not on the list.

Codeway's project manager reports, "Codetrack has tracked millions of vehicles. It has never lost one."