Truck ferry receives award of excellence

July 1, 2003
The Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry was presented with an Award of Excellence for increasing transportation efficiency and security at the 34th annual National

The Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry was presented with an Award of Excellence for increasing transportation efficiency and security at the 34th annual National Transportation Week Ontario Awards Breakfast in Toronto recently.

Since Sept 11, 2001, concerns have arisen that trucks transporting hazardous materials could be used as weapons in future terrorist acts on North America. As a result, governments on both sides of the border have been increasingly concerned about transportation of such materials across the border.

Federal law restricts transportation of materials that are explosive, radioactive, flammable, and corrosive from the Windsor and Detroit local bridge and tunnel crossings. The Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry provides the only legal crossing for these hazardous materials in this border area.

In June 2002, a United States Port Security grant was awarded to the Detroit Windsor Truck Ferry to design and implement an advanced notification and tracking system that electronically captures critical data on trucks transporting hazardous materials across the Canada-US border via the Detroit Windsor Truck Ferry.

The company rose to the challenge, and its in-house technology team designed and implemented an automated bi-national system to provide accurate and detailed activity reports for each trip including information on driver, vehicle, and the hazmat profile of cargo. In operation since November 2002, the new security system has improved border safety and efficiency at the truck ferry. Customs is able to pre-screen entries and expedite the clearance process.

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