Eimskip, founded in 1914, is an Icelandic supplier of highly valued transportation and logistic services with a focus on the company’s home market in the North Atlantic, and other markets where viable. Eimskip has approximately 8,500 employees, 163 operational bases in 21 countries, and operates over 40 container and break-bulk vessels. Eimskip owns and operates the largest cold storage network in the world with over 100 cold storages.
New law, new shipping conditions
The ISPS code, which came into effect July 1st, 2004, set new conditions for the shipping industry. To adhere to the new security rules, and to provide a safer environment for the personnel, Eimskip needed a new video surveillance solution for their port facilities in Iceland.
Four ports, huge surveillance challenges
As Eimskip operates in four ports in Iceland, they wanted a surveillance solution with remote recording at the different sites, with local management from their main port facility in Sundahofn, Reykjavik. The security solution had to be easy to manage with effortless system upgradeability for a future-safe investment. “We also wanted the possibility to add plug-ins and applications,” explains Eythor H. Olafsson, Company Security Officer at Eimskip.
Finding the perfect fit
Eimskip arranged a public tender, and Securitas Iceland took part in it with a security solution based on Mirasys software. “We were familiar with the quality and performance of Mirasys products, and we knew Mirasys solutions would be ideal for Eimskip’s needs,” says Thorir Helgason from Securitas Iceland.
The offered Mirasys V series consists of analog DVRs (Digital Video Recorders), which can be extended to hybrid DVRs by adding network cameras to the basic unit. The Mirasys RMC (Remote Management Center) system is easily scalable according to user requirements, ranging from a single monitoring PC to a system of up to ten parallel workstations with access to a hundred video recorders and thousands of remote cameras.
Mirasys’ solution was chosen, and the factors settling the decision were user-friendliness, adaptability and scalability. “For example, the Mirasys security systems can be easily updated and upgraded in a cost-efficient way, which is very important for us,” tells Olafsson.
Helgason explains: “Mirasys security solutions are constructed so that a DVR system can be easily built up from four camera channels up to 50 camera channels simply by updating the license.”
