A RANSOMWARE or cyberattack has been blamed for shutting down the Containerchain system since midnight on Friday.
In correspondence to customers, Containerchain confirmed detective a cyberattack just before midnight and put in place emergency response procedures while isolating platform servers.
Containerchain has predicted little or no data loss.
“We are working to return the system to customer production as quickly as possible and expect access to be restored no later than start of business Monday morning,” Containerchain manager Andrew Smith said in an email to customers.
“We trust that shipping lines, seaport terminal operators and road transporters enact immediate contingency arrangements and that leniency is provided in terms of late container dehire events as a direct result of this incident.”
Container Transport Alliance Australia director Neil Chambers said CTAA had been in contact with all empty container parks (across Australia asking what manual processing contingencies they might put in place come Monday morning if the platform was not restored.
“Many ECPs have responded to say that they are working up their plans to revert to manual processing,” Mr Chambers said.
“But, if that has to occur, then naturally there will be significant delays in the empty container management chain in all ports for import empty container de-hires and export empty container pick-ups,” he said.
“This has the potential to add considerably more strain to the already over-stretched empty chain in Sydney.”
This is just the latest cyberattack to affect the logistics and shipping sector, with Toll Holdings, CMA CGM, MSC and even the IMO among those to be assaulted by online demons.
