TRANSPORTED Asset Protection Association (TAPA) is to hold a 24-hour conference to address the subject of "Freight Security in Practice" following last year's hefty toll of 3,800 cargo crimes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) that cost EUR120 million (US$149.9 million).

The conference, held in the seaside town of Brighton, UK will present case studies of organised criminals and solutions to prevent theft which showed a marked rise in theft from facility and hijacking as well as opportunist theft.

Commodities such as tobacco products, non-electronic, sporting goods all saw a higher level of loss in 2009 than in 2008, but there was also a downward trend in other areas such as metals, laptop/PDA's, mobile phones, pharmaceutical, medical products and software.

TAPA's EMEA chairman Thorsten Neumann said surveys of the group's members showed a reduction of the 2009 EUR67 million loss reported through the Incident Information Service (IIS) in 2009.

"We are determined to continue to drive this figure down through continued improvements in our security requirements, shared intelligence among members and by developing closer relationships with government and law enforcement agencies," he said in a company statement.

The TAPA EMEA event has attracted sponsorship from Cargo Guard, Dallmeier, DVtel, EUROWATCH, G4S, Kuehne + Nagel and Trans-Safety.

Source: shipping online