Hapag-Lloyd announced that it is celebrating the installation of its 700,000th tracking device, an important moment on the company's path to creating the world's largest smart container fleet.

In a statement, the ocean carrier said Dr Volker Wissing, Germany's federal minister of Digital and Transport, personally installed the device on a container at the company’s headquarters in Hamburg.

Emphasising the significance of the event, Wissing said digitalisation offers great opportunities for the transport industry.

"One sign of this is the progress made by Hapag-Lloyd in building an intelligent container fleet. Such advances not only benefit shipping, they strengthen Germany as a location for innovation and contribute to our vision of a better connected and more efficient transport sector," he added.

Meanwhile, Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive at Hapag-Lloyd, said the company is "proud to be at the forefront of the digitalisation of container shipping."

"Our 'Smart Container Fleet' project is about transforming the industry and setting new standards for supply-chain transparency and customer service," he said.

Targeting a fully digital container fleet

Hapag-Lloyd noted that it is on course to becoming the "world's first container shipping line to equip its entire container fleet of 1.6 million dry containers with real-time tracking devices."

Dry container monitoring will be a game-changer, as having permanently installed real-time tracking technology permanently installed on and gathering data from standard containers will enhance visibility.

The solar battery-powered tracking devices, equipped with internal sensors and GPS, will transmit data through the cell network in addition to recording shock events and ambient temperature.

Hapag-Lloyd said these devices are explosion-proof according to established standards ensuring safety for crews, cargo, and vessels.

"The vast majority of Hapag-Lloyd's container fleet will be smart by the beginning of 2024," the ocean carrier said.

It added that at around the same time, Hapag-Lloyd is planning to launch a corresponding commercial product called "Live Position."