China’s state-owned Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Company, known as ZPMC, has denied its cranes present a cybersecurity threat to ports in the United States.

The White House last month announced it would spend USD20 billion replacing Chinese ship-to-shore (STS) container cranes at US ports, citing cybersecurity concerns.

Last week, news broke that a Congressional investigation into critical infrastructure security vulnerabilities at US ports had found cellular modems on ZPMC crane components at a US port.

“These communication devices were not part of the equipment contracts, nor could port officials determine why the components had been installed,” the House Committee on Homeland Security and House Select Committee on China says in a statement.

But the Chinese crane maker, which has supplied about 80% of the lifting equipment used at US ports, denied any wrongdoing.

“ZPMC has noticed the recent action taken by the US government based on cybersecurity concerns regarding the US ports, as well as media reports alleging that `cellular modems’ had been installed on ZPMC’s cranes,” the company says in a statement on its website.  

“ZPMC takes these allegations seriously and considers that such reports, without a sufficient review of the facts, can easily mislead the public. The cranes provided by ZPMC pose no cyber security risk to any port.”

The cranemaker says its equipment is manufactured and delivered in accordance with international standards, applicable laws and the customers’ specifications.

In April last year, South Korea announced it would inspect all Chinese-supplied cranes after the US government warned that cranes built by ZPMC may be used for espionage purposes.