US abandons 100% scanning target

The latest United States budget has moved away from the aim of scanning 100% of US-bound container cargo at over 700 foreign ports.

The shift in policy follows a report that highlighted the failure of scanning plans, estimating that less than 5% of US-bound cargo was scanned at the world’s largest ports.  

The latest US budget plans to phase out three of five pilot programs for 100% scanning of US-bound container cargo, including programs in the ports of Puerto Cortes, Honduras; Southampton, United Kingdom; and Busan, South Korea while complete scanning operations are to remain in the two ports of Qasim, Pakistan and Salalah, Oman. Another cut will withdraw US personnel at more than 50 foreign ports  who identify and inspect high-risk cargo, saving around $50.7m. Instead, US agencies aim to perform remote examinations with the cooperation of foreign governments, and using image analysis.  

In a hearing at the end of last year, Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano admitted to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that “technology doesn’t exist right now to effectively detect suspicious anomalies in cargo. This makes scanning difficult and time consuming”.  

Also, she said equipment costs alone would come to about $8m for every one of the 2,100 shipping lanes at the more than 700 ports that ship to the US. She added: “Other challenges are logistical, most ports do not have a single point through which most of the cargo passes, meaning that 100% scanning would either severely slow trade or require a redesign of the port.” Ms Napolitano said other areas also require attention so the department has taken a "layered approach" to cargo security.  

"We collect advanced information on cargo entering the United States: who has it, where it’s going, who may have had access to it, so that we can focus on higher-risk cargo," she said. "We work with partners in the shipping industry to improve their security. Once we ensure that a company has put strong security measures in place, we focus on higher-risk shipments.  

“We need address the issue of maritime security through a wider lens,” she concluded.

(Source: Port Strategy)