Homeland Security seeks deals on cargo scanning

The Homeland Security Department expects to formalize agreements with up to three foreign ports by the end of this year to scan all cargo containers before they are shipped to the United States, a senior department official said Wednesday.

"We are talking to some of the foreign ports," new Customs and Border Protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham told reporters. He said the department is in discussions with "probably half a dozen" ports but declined to specify which ones. He said the department should have agreements with one or more of them by the end of the year.

About 11 million cargo containers are shipped to the United States each year. Industry officials estimate that number will double by 2014.

The subject of scanning all cargo containers for radiological and nuclear materials was a hot-button political issue in Congress during the last several months. Democrats pressed for legislation that would have required the department to ensure that within three to five years, all U.S.-bound cargo at foreign ports be scanned. Republicans, backed by the shipping industry, argued that it was wrong and technologically unfeasible to set an arbitrary deadline.

In the end, Congress passed a maritime security bill that requires the department to establish a test program at three foreign ports to scan all containers. The program will be expanded to other ports as soon as possible if the department determines that doing so is feasible and will not disrupt trade. Basham said he expects President Bush to sign the bill Friday.

Basham said one of the biggest challenges for the effort is that foreign ports have different sizes and configurations. Currently, the port of Hong Kong is using an integrated scanning system developed by private industry. Basham noted the system has a high level of false alarms.

Basham also said the department plans to begin a test program that would allow private companies or organizations to validate the security plans of shippers under the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, or C-TPAT. He said the project, known as third-party validations, would be particularly valuable in areas where the U.S. government does not have ready access, such as China.

Basham became commissioner in June. Giving his first speech Wednesday to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, he assured industry that he will continue the maritime security programs that have been in place for several years, including keeping the C-TPAT program voluntary.

He said he is not proposing any new big programs, but his agency is evaluating what additional information should be collected on cargo containers.

He added that the agency will open a second national targeting center by the end of the year to focus on gathering information on containers by "teleforensics" and "remote-imaging." He said the agency's objective is to increase the use of non-intrusive scanning practices to determine which containers need to be physically inspected.