Ports challenged to meet 2012 box scan deadline

Carluer conceded this could effectively create a Black List of non-Container Security Initiative (CSI) rated ports that will be denied business. This would be especially hard on developing countries that will be unable to attain even 20 percent scanning capability for the foreseeable future, he said.

CSI is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection cargo security program designed to push the borders out to foreign ports for pre-departure inspections. Customs officers are stationed in 58 ports through bilateral agreements where they use risk analysis of shipping data to identify a small subset U.S.-bound volume for automated scanning by local authorities.

Other direct costs to be considered, according to the study, include the necessary investments in dedicated infrastructure and port organization, a short slow-down in operations, and the expense of establishing a new framework of standards to govern the process.

Indirect costs include the potential disruption to the logistics supply chain from port congestion and certain non-compliant ports and countries being increasingly disadvantaged.

On the plus side, the scanning law will renew confidence in containerized transportation and result in extra productivity in the medium term due to port reorganization. It will also boost digital technology development leading to new market entrants and time savings which should also enhance other sectors of the supply chain.

Carluer warned U.S. ports wouldn't be able to cope if they were asked to reciprocate.

They would be terribly affected. They are not in a position to do it themselves. In that scenario I would expect to see ports in Mexico and Canada used as enclaves to reduce the impact.

The WCO is among a number of international organizations to have spoken out against the 100 percent scanning law and has tried convincing U.S. authorities to seek a harmonized solution with its SAFE Framework of Standards, in which container scanning is only one element of a process based on risk management.

WCO Secretary General Michel Danet said he plans to submit to the U.S. administration positive counter-proposals, such as acceptance of the 10+2 advance information requirement, to get the scanning legislation repealed.

There is no question that we are all determined to find the best practical solution; one that will provide the U.S. with the added security it seeks to prevent any act of terrorism from being carried out using international shipping channels, but which will not burden global trade unnecessarily, Danet said. 

Michael Mullen, CBP's assistant commissioner for international affairs and trade relations, said preliminary results from the Secure Freight Initiative where three scan-all pilot locations are taking place revealed significant challenges and higher costs than originally imagined. The scanning project is under way at three relatively low-volume locations: in Southampton in the United Kingdom, Puerto Cortes, Honduras, and Port Qasim in Pakistan

Issues encountered included the technology used not being rugged enough to operate 24/7 as well as extreme weather conditions that lead to high maintenance costs. Other problems were difficulties securing the wide communications channels needed to send data back to the U.S. National Targeting Center and trouble finding adequate staff in the United States and at foreign ports to operate the program.

One-hundred percent scanning is only justified in high-risk trade corridors. That's relatively few places in the world. That's the only way that this process will pay any return on the investment, he said.

Mullen said he hopes Congress will agree to make the key conclusions of the trial project publicly available and offered hope to opponents of the scanning law of a back-track in the United States.

There will soon be a new administration and several new members of Congress. We feel quite confident from the pilot projects that we’re going to have a significant volume of data that indicates clearly to any reasonable person that this is the wrong way to go.

I don't want anyone to walk out of this room and say that Mike Mullen says this isn't going to happen because there's no way we can say that at this particular point. But our confidence level is increasing.