Port Crane Drama Escalates

House Republican leaders have sent a letter to Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), the dominant supplier of port cargo cranes, demanding answers regarding findings of the Committees’ joint investigation into the operation of ZPMC-manufactured cranes at U.S. ports. 

The Committees have identified serious concerns regarding ZPMC’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), especially in the wake of reports that CCP-affiliated hackers maintained access to U.S. critical infrastructure for years, including the maritime sector.

The letter details concerns related to cellular modems discovered on ship-to-shore (STS) crane components at a U.S. seaport and a cellular modem discovered in another U.S. seaport’s server room that houses STS cranes’ firewall and networking equipment. As part of another cybersecurity investigation, some of these modems were found to have active connections to the operational components of the STS cranes. 

The Committees remain concerned that every U.S. seaport with ZPMC cranes could already be, or is at risk of being, compromised by the CCP. These suspicious cellular modems are another piece of the puzzle, as they were not part of any existing contract between the seaports and ZPMC, and the Committees have been unable to verify a timeline for installation or their intended purpose.

Certain U.S. seaport personnel have communicated to the Committees that they believed the cellular modems were potentially for maintenance, monitoring, or the collection of usage data for the STS cranes.  

Writing the letter were Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, House Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green (R-TN), and Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL)

The Chairmen were joined on the letter by Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence August Pfluger (R-TX) and Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party members, Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and Rep. Michelle Steele (R-CA).