Greenfield terminal - ICT from fiber to software
Sole ICT lead for a greenfield deep-water container terminal: network, physical security, governance, and software, built from nothing.
The situation
A new deep-water port terminal starting operations with no IT function. One person responsible for everything between the fiber in the ground and the software the operation runs on.
Two roles
The engagement has two halves, both current. One is ICT lead and integrations owner. The other is operational support in the terminal: calling vessels in, supervising cargo operations.
So I specified the systems described here, and I work inside the operation they serve. Requirements came off shifts rather than out of interviews, and I saw which of them held in use.
What I built
A segmented network from edge to access: a virtualized edge firewall, an L3 core, a self-healing fiber ring across the yard, and enterprise wireless. A ~30-camera IP CCTV estate on an open-source NVR, and biometric access control.
On the governance side: an ISO 27001-aligned ISMS written from scratch, email authentication hardened through to DMARC enforcement, and incident response when it was needed.
Alongside the infrastructure, custom operational software: gate pass management, HSE induction, and groundwork for a terminal operating system (TOS).
Stack & infrastructure
This section stays at capability level on purpose - naming vendors or products would help identify the site. The shape is conventional: enterprise network hardware, open source where it serves (the NVR among it), and custom software written for the terminal’s own workflows.
Outcome
A terminal that went from bare ground to operating with enterprise-grade ICT, run by one person, with documentation good enough to hand over.