THE Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Port of Cebu installed on Monday, June 22, a portal x-ray machine that will help hasten the scanning of containerized shipments at the port.
Carlos Joey Reyes, BOC X-Ray Inspection Project-Cebu field officer, said the HXP-FreightScan Portal enhances the port’s maximum x-ray inspection capacity to 150 trucks an hour.
With its comprehensive imaging tools and standard features, shipments will be analyzed with greater speed and accuracy while ensuring maximum threat detection, he added.
“We commit to adopt to technological advancements in our operations to better serve our stakeholders,” he said.
The HXP-FreightScan Portal adopts a modern scanning technology designed by Astrophysics Asia Inc. The system is capable of detecting smuggled and anti-social goods through high-resolution images for a more accurate image analysis.
The portal design allows container trucks to move through the x-ray machine with a tunnel height of almost five meters, allowing scanning of oversized cargoes.
BOC-Port of Cebu said the installation of the additional x-ray machine is in line with their commitment to strengthen border security measures by increasing its non-intrusive inspection capabilities of containerized shipments.
This modernization of the bureau’s scanning technology in the port will not only improve border security and trade facilitation, but also increase the entire port operation’s resiliency against and adaptability in times of operational disruption.
Lawyer Charlito Martin Mendoza, acting district collector, led the inauguration and the blessing ceremony of the newly-installed portal x-ray machine.
Engr. Rene Antonio Bacon, port manager of Port Management Office-Cebu Port Authority; lawyer Tomas Riveral, chairman and chief executive officer of Oriental Port and Allied Services Corporation (Opascor); and lawyer Florimae C. Velasco, general manager of Opascor. (WBS/With PR)