Due to logistical and diplomatic concerns among shippers, carriers and foreign governments, the Department of Homeland Security says it will not meet the 2012 deadline to scan all cargo bound for U.S. seaports.

In 2007, former President George W. Bush signed into law H.R. 1 Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, which called for complete scanning of maritime cargo before it leaves for the United States by 2012. The bill also called for specific annual benchmarks on the percentage of maritime cargo containers headed for the U.S., an analysis of the incorporation of maritime security initiatives and of the technology, equipment and personnel needed to reach 100 percent scanning, according to Logistics Management.

Government Computer News reports that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano last week alerted House lawmakers that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would not meet the 2012 deadline for 100 percent cargo scanning. Napolitano cited logistical, technological and diplomatic concerns from shippers, carriers, foreign governments, and port and terminal operators as obstacles to reaching the 100 percent scanning objective.

The bill does include a provision that allows the DHS “to seek two-year extensions on behalf of individual ports if the agency can demonstrate the existence of any of six broad conditions preventing effective implementation,” Security Management.com states. The DHS conducted tests on the feasibility of 100 percent scanning prior to claiming the unachievable 2012 deadline.

According to the Homeland Security Dept.’s report regarding the test programs, the DHS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched three pilots at the Port of Southampton in the United Kingdom, Port Qasim in Pakistan and Puerto Cortez in Honduras under the Secure Freight Initiative (SFI) and found that “SFI deployments indicate that scanning U.S.-bound maritime containers is possible on a limited scale.

“However, SFI operations in these initial locations benefited from considerable host nation cooperation, low transshipment rates, and technology and infrastructure costs covered primarily by the U.S. government,” the DHS continues. “The total U.S.-bound container volume at these three ports from Oct. 12, 2007, to May 25, 2008, was 170,564 containers.”

To put this in perspective, the DHS itself claims that 11.5 million maritime containers enter the U.S. every year.

As of October 2008, DHS and the CBP had launched 700 pilot programs to test 100 percent scanning of cargo and several issues were noted as hindrances to the viability of the project, Security Management adds.

A separate study on the pilot ports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found similar results. According to the GAO report, there were nine major challenges to the continuation of the SFI pilot programs and longer-term 100 percent scanning. They are as follows:

1. Workforce Planning — More CBP officers will be required to review and analyze data for participating seaports.
2. Host Nation Examination Practices — CBP lacks information on host nation equipment and practices.
3. Measuring Performance — There are no defined performance measures, making it difficult to assess if 100 percent scanning achieves increased security.
4. Resource Responsibilities — Neither the SAFE Port Act nor the 9/11 Act specifies who will pay for the costs of implementing 100 percent scanning.
5. Logistics — Space constraints at seaports make it difficult to install all needed equipment, requiring them to be placed perhaps miles away from cargo.
6. Technology and Infrastructure — Environmental conditions, infrastructure capacity and equipment compatibility presented hardships for the pilot programs.
7. Use and Ownership of Data — Legislation specifies scan data should be available to CBP officials, but the data is generated and collected at foreign seaports, which may require transfer agreements.
8. Consistency with Risk Management — International partners say that scanning is inconsistent with risk management principles and divert resources away from other threats.
9. Reciprocity and Trade Concerns — Foreign governments may ask the same thing of U.S. ports for cargo heading to their respective countries.

Rather than plowing on with the 100 percent scanning initiative, the GAO recommended that “DHS develop human capital plans, enhance performance measures and gather information on the efficacy of host government systems.”

Non-governmental bodies were also opposed to the 100 percent cargo scanning project. In an October 2008 interview, Frank Vargo of the National Association of Manufacturers told USA Today that the “plan will slow trade and could cost the industry as much as $20 billion a year. It will result in a two-day — maybe a five-day — delay before that container (is cleared) and can be loaded onto a ship.”

So for now, given all the obstacles, the DHS is sticking to gathering more information about who made the goods in the containers and who packed them. Only flagged containers — those from unknown companies and countries known to harbor terrorists or those with suspicious documentation — would be scanned for nuclear or radiological materials.

What’s your take on the 100 percent scanning of all U.S.-bound cargo?

Resources

Napolitano Updates Congress on DHS’ IT Programs
by Ben Bain
Government Computer News, March 02, 2009

H.R. 1: Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007

DHS’ Plan for Implementing Secure Systems of Transportation
Department of Homeland Security, October 2008

DHS and DOE Launch Secure Freight Initiative
Department of Homeland Security, Dec. 7, 2006

Challenges to Scanning 100 Percent of U.S.-Bound Cargo Containers
Government Accountability Office, June 12, 2008

2012 Deadline to Scan All Port Cargo Won’t Be Met
by Mimi Hall
USA TODAY, Oct. 21, 2008

Port security: Chertoff Says 100-percent Scanning Requirements Will Not Be Met by 2012
by Jeff Berman
Logistics Management, Oct. 27, 2008

Outlook for Container Scanning
by Joseph Straw
Security Management, October 2008