CargoForwarder Global recently reported on the financial losses incurred through the increase in theft from trucks carrying airfreight and other types of cargo throughout Europe and Africa. This problem is foremost in TAPA’s (Transport Asset Protection Association) efforts to tackle cargo crime on both continents.
First steps taken for secure parking
Thorsten Neumann, TAPA President & CEO EMEA and his team have been working for some time on means to ensure safer transport by road, especially when truckers need to rest at motorway or other
parking areas.
A deciding step in this direction have now been taken in France. TAPA recorded 1,220 cargo crimes in France alone in the first six months of this year. Almost 85 percent of these thefts were at
so called unclassified parking areas. Goods to the value of €3.4 million were stolen by organized gangs who look for easy pickings.
TAPA has given their highest Level 1 certification to the Delta Park Truck Secure Parking area which is situated in Dourges. The location which is in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region is more or less
directly accessible from the main A1 and A21 motorways which are used by thousands of truckers driving to and from the port of Calais. The Level 1 certification is in line with TAPA’s Parking
Security Requirements (PSR), which were introduced earlier this year.
Although Dourges is the first location to be given TAPA’s Level 1 status, they (TAPA) have listed a further 5,000 parking areas in 10 European, Middle Eastern and African countries into their
secure parking database as well. This, all in an attempt to bring more awareness to the need of ensuring that thefts be brought down to a minimum.
Safer parking - relief for drivers
Delta Park in Dourges offers a total of 146 fully secured parking spaces (see photo) along with 24/7 facilities for drivers. These range from free showers, free Wi-Fi, laundry machines, a
restaurant and various snack machines.
Hi-value goods on trucks, including many shipments which originated as air cargo, are constantly being targeted by gangs who follow trucks and wait for the chance to hijack drivers who are forced
to take rest at unlit byways or motorway service stations. Here, security is mostly almost non-existent.
It goes without saying that truckers need more of these types of secure parking areas and TAPA EMEA have set their sights on increasing the number of PSR Level 1, 2 and 3 sites in Europe.The
Level 1 and 2 sites have to be audited by TAPA-approved Independent Audit Bodies (IABs) before they can be listed to TAPA members as safe parking areas.
Still a long way to go before thefts are brought down to a minimum.
Interested parties can gain more information on the PSR Security Standard on TAPA’s website at: www.tapaemea.org
John Mc Donagh
Footnote: We always welcome your comments to our articles. However, we can only publish them when the sender name is authentic.
Write a comment