Impact of cyber-attack on APM Terminals less than feared: SeaIntel

Copenhagen-based SeaIntel said that its analysis on the impact on APM Terminals operations showed a “clear impact” in the short-term but not far outside normal operating fluctuations.

“For the most part, APM Terminals continued vessel handling operations as normal, albeit at a slower pace for a short number of days,” SeaIntel said.

While there was severe impact at certain terminals, such as the fully automated, Maasvlakte II terminal in Rotterdam where vessel operations stopped completely for a full week, the impact across all 68 of APM Terminals facilities was seen as “muted”.

“We see vessels arriving late and spending longer time at berth for a few days, but overall, the impact is not outside what we see through normal operational fluctuations,” commented Alan Murphy ceo of SeaIntel.

In worst cases vessels were re-routed to other terminals such as in Rotterdam where its APMT Rotterdam terminal saw vessel stays double to an average of three days.

“We saw a three-hour average increase in the time spent at berth after the incident, but the increase is not far outside the normal operational fluctuations, and was back to normal levels within a few days,” said Murphy.

However, while the impact on vessel operations may not have been that large overall SeaIntel noted its analysis did not include the issues experienced by shippers on the landside. “This is likely where APMT and their customers may have felt the brunt of the impact of this cyber-security breach,” it noted.