NORFOLK, Va. — The Pentagon is reportedly concerned Chinese-made cranes operating at U.S. ports may be a “Trojan horse,” collecting intelligence on the movements of defense supplies.
According to the Wall Street Journal, ship-to-shore cranes manufactured by Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. — or ZPMC — contain sophisticated sensors with the capability of tracking the origin and destination of cargo containers.
The cranes in question are widely used by the Portsmouth-based Port of Virginia, with four having been installed at the Virginia International Gateway in 2019 after sailing to Hampton Roads from China. The cranes, standing 170 feet tall and weighing roughly 14.6 million pounds each, are among the largest on the East Coast.
