Customs chief proposes security plan to protect cargo ships

Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner is proposing a new security plan to protect global trade from sabotage by terrorists. Since 90 percent of commercial cargo travels by ship, ensuring the integrity of shipping containers is critical to international security. "The stakes are high," Bonner told an audience Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "One can only imagine the devastation of a small nuclear explosion at one of our seaports." As horrific as the physical damage might be, the economic damage across the globe would be equally devastating, he said. A likely result would be the complete halt of all shipping, followed by full inspections of every container arriving at a U.S. port. "If anyone is wondering about the impact of a 100 percent inspection rate on our just-in-time economy, consider the situation in which the U.S. auto industry found itself in the days after the terrorist attacks," Bonner said. "Ford, GM and Daimler Chrysler, all of whom are dependent on a regular flow of auto parts from Canada and Mexico, could not get critical materials in time due to [traffic backups at the border]." The fate of several major plants and thousands of jobs hinged on the delays caused by just two days of increased wait times," Bonner said. Bonner made four proposals for shoring up security at ports:

• Create internationally accepted criteria for identifying high-risk containers.
• Pre-screen containers before they are shipped to the United States, possibly using small, multinational teams of inspectors.
• Greatly expand the use of technology that would enable the pre-screening of high-risk containers.
• Develop more secure containers that reduce the risk of tampering.