Lübeck - A safe harbourWith a market share of 40 percent, Lübeck is Germany's biggest Baltic port. Last year, 25.4 million metric tons of goods were handled here. The port's heavy traffic, with around 150 departures a week to 24 partner ports, contributes to Lübeck's success, along with the exceptional ability to handle roll-on/roll-off traffic and the excellent hinterland access. The public port facilities, operated by LHG (Lübecker Hafen-Gesellschaft mbH), include four zones with a total area of 120 hectares and 15 ship berths. Some 730,000 trailers and trucks and around 1,800 block trains move in and out of the facility each year. Almost 90,000 container units (TEU) are also transhipped here. Trailer check Security plays an absolutely crucial role in vehicle handling operations. With the trailer check system, one of the modules of the integrated harbour and logistics system (HIS) operated by LHG (www.portit.de), trucks reporting in and out at the gate are scanned using advanced new systems and photographed from all sides by digital cameras as they pass through a portal. This enables the port operators to determine, for example, whether damage to a vehicle occurred inside the harbour or if damage was on vehicle already before entering the harbour area. Also, theft of trailers is almost impossible.  "We did run into difficulties, though, when we commissioned the original system at the Scandinavian quay," admits Thomas Kapscha, an external employee who worked on the LHG scanner portal project for Lübecker Hafen- Gesellschaft's IT department. "In the winter, the sun was so low that the existing cameras didn't do their job properly; you couldn't see anything on the images. We tried changing the cameras' positions, but then they couldn't focus on the license plates. That meant we needed additional cameras to help us solve the problem." No problem with backlight The decisive tip came from an IT service company, Conect Kommunikationssysteme GmbH (www.conect-online.de) that introduced the LHG supervisors to MOBOTIX camera technology. The system was then thoroughly tested and compared with rival solutions. "We discovered," says Thomas Kapscha, "that the IP camera from MOBOTIX was best-suited to our needs. The system was exceptionally easy to integrate with our existing network as well as with the scan portal software. The camera also offers excellent value for money and has no problems with backlight." Less Effort Once the cameras had been deployed successfully in the scan portals, it was clear that the MOBOTIX technology would also offer the ideal solution for implementing a more extensive video surveillance coverage required in order to obtain ISPS certification. The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code prescribes a large number of internationally required measures to improve harbour security. In addition, the port operators are planning to gradually phase out current analogue systems and to replace them with IP cameras.  The solution will be used initially for pedestrian and vehicle access control. At Schlutop Terminal, which is not equipped with a scan portal, a total of six cameras - three each way - have been installed to photograph the front, rear and drivers of inbound and outbound trucks and trailers. This is necessary because the tractors and trailers generally have different license plates, and it is important to know exactly who is on site. "It's really useful in this case that the cameras can be controlled using a range of different signals rather than solely via the in-built video sensor," explains Thomas Kapscha.
"The front camera is triggered by the access control system. It begins taking pictures when the barrier goes up. The rear camera goes on when the truck leaves the induction loop. And pictures of the driver are triggered by a network signal from the front camera. In comparison with other IP systems, these cameras require far less effort in terms of cabling and installation." Plans for 40 more cameras At present, LHG has 25 MOBOTIX cameras in operation. The benefits are not limited to the documentation of damage to trucks and trailers only, but the cameras have also enabled LHG to bring a number of crimes to prosecution, including fuel theft, trespass and vandalism. LHG is evidently very satisfied with the system since the company now has plans to deploy another 40 or so cameras. | 
