Facial biometric tech speeds up Vancouver cruise ship customs

New biometric facial-scanning tech speeds up Canada Place cruise ship terminal's customs

Facial biometric customs screening at the Canada Place cruise ship terminal. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

The customs process at Canada’s busiest cruise ship terminal has been sped up from the introduction of new facial biometric technology.

Moving forward, Canadian and American passengers boarding cruise ships at the Canada Place cruise ship terminal in downtown Vancouver will use the new screening technology, which is expected to improve passenger experience, terminal efficiency, and border security.

This is a partnership between the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and US Customs and Border Protection.

The technology fully automates manual document identity verification checks for those boarding a cruise that require customs admission into the United States, such as cruise itineraries leaving Vancouver to Alaska, Hawaii, and other US destinations.

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As part of the cruise ship boarding process, passengers will have a photo taken, which will be compared to the photo from their pre-trip travel document within seconds.

“We’re excited to partner with US authorities to implement this state-of-the-art passenger processing technology — which will help us provide a fast, secure and convenient experience for passengers embarking on a cruise,” said Peter Xotta, president and CEO of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, in a statement.

“Our ongoing partnerships with government and industry are crucial to enhancing the award-winning Canada Place cruise terminal and ensuring it can continue to meet growing demand while enhancing the experience of passengers.”

This new facial biometric system replaces Canada Place’s previous automatic passport kiosks first introduced in 2015. It is developed by US Customs and Border Protection and the port authority, with the supporting technology provided by Pangiam, a Big Bear AI company.

According to the company, the technology uses a combination of state-of-the-art computer vision and artificial intelligence to capture accurate facial recognition in real time, and instantly transmits to secure biometric matching services.

This customs technology is also found at 20 cruise ship terminals in the United States for passenger debarkation upon returning to the United States. Canada Place’s use of the system, however, is the first cruise ship terminal where the screening system is being used on embarkation.

A growing number of major airports are also adopting the use of such technology for their customs screening processes.

Passengers who opt out of the facial biometric process at Canada Place can present their valid travel documents for the manual inspection process.

For the 2024 cruise ship season, about 1.27 million cruise ship passengers are expected for the Canada Place cruise ship terminal onboard 329 cruise ship visits. The vast majority of these visits are on vessels that designate Vancouver as their seasonal homeport.

This forecast is up from the all-time record of 1.25 million passengers in 2023 on 332 cruise ship visits.

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