INDIA'S MARITIME SECURITY UNDER THREAT FROM CHINESE CRANES

According to US intelligence, Beijing can throttle port traffic or gather intelligence on military equipment being shipped by using Chinese-made ZPMC cranes.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

Earlier last week, the United States House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, held a hearing to examine security vulnerabilities at US maritime ports amid increased cybersecurity threats from China.

The said committee, for the last one year, as part of its investigation, has been focused on the penetration of Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), a Chinese state-owned enterprise, into the United States.

ZPMC is the world’s largest manufacturer of cranes and accounts for about 75% of the world-market share for container cranes. The figure of ZPMC for the US market stands at 80%.

While an official estimate is not available, official sources and industry watchers in Delhi said that at least 280 such ZPMC made cranes were actively in operation at diverse ports across India including at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), the country’s largest container port.

No major port, without any exception, was functioning without having these cranes at its disposal. As per industry reports, of the 169 yard-cranes delivered in 2022 globally, ZPMC supplied 128 of them. As per US officials, who took part in the hearing, these cranes come with designed “vulnerabilities” that allow these to be controlled by people who are not in the vicinity of these cranes.