At major ports across the globe, a quiet dominance by Chinese-made cranes could pose a serious risk to national security and global trade, some experts believe.
With nearly 90% of these critical pieces of infrastructure sourced from China, the potential for espionage, cyber-attacks and even supply chain disruptions raises urgent questions about the safety of the world's most vital shipping hubs.
What happens if cranes, essential to moving goods, are used for something far more alarming? Defense expert Egon Rinderer joined WWL's Tommy Tucker to explain how these seemingly benign pieces of infrastructure might pose significant national security risks.
"From their perspective, this is all an investment, right? So the more that they can develop that network, that network becomes really critical," Rinderer said. "That network gets used sort of on an ad hoc basis. But when they need it, it's there. It's pre-positioned. They have an ISR network that has global reach. And really, they have a bunch of winning participants in helping them install that network across unwitting nations."
As Rinderer emphasized, these cranes are not merely mechanical tools for moving cargo — they are advanced, computer-powered systems with extensive surveillance capabilities.
Covered with cameras, antennas and sensors, they're equipped to gather various forms of intelligence, including photographs, signals and even telemetry data from ships. The cranes' connectivity allows them to send data back to Chinese manufacturers, but they could also be repurposed to conduct cyber espionage or even launch cyber-attacks.
"If there's a ship in port and they want to opportunistically collect intelligence on that ship or launch an effect against that ship, they have a preposition platform to do that from," Rinderer explained.
"When I say launching an effect, that is I want to install malware on something that doesn't belong to me. And that thing is sitting 500 yards away. If I can do that via an RF link, as the Chinese government, as the Chinese People's Liberation Army, I have a platform from which I can launch those sorts of capabilities over an RF link to a ship that's sitting nearby."
"If we don't think they're doing that, we're being naive," he added.
Rinderer stressed the strategic implications, noting that China's presence at ports goes beyond intelligence gathering. In the event of a conflict, China could use its control over the cranes to paralyze global supply chains, making it possible to halt cargo operations at will. This capability is particularly concerning in light of the vulnerabilities exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when supply chains were severely disrupted.
"It doesn't matter if you have the locomotives and the ships to be able to move the goods if you can't load the goods onto them," Rinderer said. "If there's any interruption in that supply chain, we might have two weeks' worth on hand. It gets exhausted, and then we have no more inbound."
The scenario prompts tough questions about global dependence on Chinese-made infrastructure and electronics, and whether all these technological advances actually make us safer. Rinderer pointed out that while the U.S. and its allies may have substantial defenses, the full extent of China's capabilities remains a constant, evolving challenge.