Chinese spy danger hiding in crane sight, say experts

Shanghai-built cranes installed across Australia could be vulnerable to surveillance, economic espionage, and even sabotage according to the Pentagon.

Some of Australia’s most important ports, including Port Botany south of Sydney, could be vulnerable to hacking, data collection, and sabotage by the Chinese government, it can be revealed after the Pentagon warned that the equipment posed a security risk.

Echoing concerns about Chinese-made surveillance cameras that have the potential to transmit data back to Beijing, cranes made by Shanghai industrial giant ZPMC have been flagged by American officials who told The Wall Street Journal they have sophisticated sensors that allow them to track shipping and potentially disrupt commerce.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that similar ZPMC cranes have been installed in ports across Australia, prompting local security concerns.

In 2018, a 73 metre, $14 million crane manufactured by ZPMC was installed at Port Botany in Sydney’s south after being transported by a heavy bulk carrier ship from China.

That same year Australian stevedoring company DP World Australia also took delivery of cranes for their shipping container terminals in Brisbane and Melbourne.

ZPMC-built cranes such as those seen above could be used to track shipping and even bring commerce to a halt in times of crisis, experts have warned

Another crane set was delivered in 2020.

In 2013, officials at Fremantle Port in Western Australia also took delivery of a giant ZPMC crane, the first of a number of the cranes that have been installed in the port.

ZPMC cranes arriving at Port Botany from China on the Zhen Hua 36.

According to various shipping industry reports, ZPMC now controls around 70 per cent of the market for giant cranes used to move containers on and off ships, having become popular for their low cost and reasonable quality 20 years ago.

However in 2018 officials with the Maritime Union of Australia issued a safety alert about ZPMC cranes.

At the time an MUA statement said that “(ZPMC cranes at Port Botany) have experienced no less than 11 wire rope breakages in 18 months.

“It is only good luck that has prevented multiple injuries or fatalities.”

UNSW cyber security expert Nigel Phair said that the cranes could potentially harvest a huge amount of data of interest to China.

“What are the prime times for shipping? Where are containers coming from? Where are they going?,” Prof Phair said.

Some 2.5 million containers pass every year through Port Botany.

“When you put this information together with other intelligence, it’s like big data, and it could be very valuable to China.”

Peter Jennings, senior fellow and former executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that the cranes were just a small part of how Australia had become dangerously dependant on Chinese technology.

“Too much of Australia’s critical infrastructure is vulnerable to Chinese hacking and sabotage,” he said.

“Given our total dependence on imports for so many vital supplies, how could we have allowed this to happen?”

“It will take a decade to unpick all these vulnerabilities.”

Originally published as Chinese spy danger hiding in crane sight, say experts