The Hindu Business Line : US scanning containers in foreign ports

Chennai April 13 The US has begun scanning shipping containers in foreign ports to detect any nuclear or radiological material even before the boxes are allowed to leave for the US ports. This Secure Freight Initiative (SFI) of the US Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Energy (DOE), launched first in seaports of Puerto Cortes in Honduras and Port Qasim in Pakistan, is to strengthen global supply chain security.

Asked if SFI would be extended to India, a senior official of a private container terminal said it was too early to comment. "But when they decide to come, it would be at a short notice. We need to be prepared."

Nhava Sheva, Chennai

If launched in India, SFI is likely to start at Nhava Sheva and Chennai, where private container terminals are run by DP World, which is participating in the SFI, he said.

The new initiative would also be launched in Salalah (Oman) and Singapore. This means, Indian containers that use both these ports to tranship boxes to the US would be scanned thoroughly for any nuclear or radiological material.

In 2006, the Chennai Container Terminal (P) Ltd, which runs the container terminal at Chennai, despatched about 66,000 TEUs to the US.

New measure

The new security measure is the third such initiative taken by the US Government since the September 11, 2001 attacks on theWorld Trade Centre. The first is deployment of US Custom officials at global ports; second is the Megaports Initiative, which teams up with other countries to enhance their ability to screen cargo at major international seaports.In addition, shippers from across the world provide the US details of cargo such as the shipper, the consignee and weight of the carton, before the containers are taken on board the ships. It takes two working days for the US to give permission for a shipping line to take the container on board a ship, said a source.

The SFI testing was started on April 2. Other than Honduras and Pakistan, four other SFI ports expected to initiate the scanning this year are Southampton (UK); Salalah; Port of Singapore and the Gamman Terminal at Port Busan in Korea, according to information available on the US Department of Homeland Security Web site.

Data gathered from overseas scanning of US bound containers would be transmitted in near real-time to US Customs and Border Protection Officers working in overseas ports and to the National Targeting Centre. The data will be combined with other risk assessment information to improve analysis, targeting and scrutiny of high-risk containers.

All alarms from radiation detection equipment will be resolved locally, and protocols are being developed with host governments that may include instructing carriers not to load a container until the risk is fully resolved.

The DHS and DOE, through their National Nuclear Security Administration, will contribute roughly $60 million to the SFI to install radiation detection devices and communications infrastructure that transmit data back to the US. DOE will invest approximately $4 million in Puerto Cortes for installing detection devices and an integrated communications system that links new assets with existing equipment.