Logistics news: Inbound ocean cargo will miss screening deadline, says DHS head
Patrick Burnson, Executive Editor -- Logistics Management, 3/1/2009
Washington — Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Janet Napolitano told the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee last month that 100-percent scanning of inbound ocean cargo containers will not meet the 2012 deadline.
The impetus for cargo scanning was put forth when former President George W. Bush signed "H.R. 1 Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007" into law in August 2007. The bill calls for the 100-percent scanning of maritime cargo before it's loaded onto vessels heading for the United States to be required by 2012.
The bill also calls for specific annual benchmarks on the percentage of maritime cargo containers headed for the U.S.; an analysis of how to best incorporate existing maritime security initiatives, including the Container Security Initiative and C-TPAT; and an analysis of the scanning equipment, personnel, and technology needed to reach the 100-percent container scanning objective.
The news that 100-percent container scanning will not meet the 2012 deadline should come as scant surprise to shippers who have been struggling to get the paper work done on their own layers of compliance directives.
"While some U.S. importers have adjusted to the DHS directives of the 10+2 rule and are ready to step up, there may be as many as 800,000 shippers still struggling with compliance," said Albert Saphir, principal with ABS Consulting in Marietta, Ga.
Tom Mathers, communications director for the National Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association (NCBFAA), said that members of his organization are "still ahead of the curve," due partly to the lagging economy. "Business for our members has been very steady, although volumes are down. This has given them time to adjust to the new regulations and to be prepared for the rebound," Mathers said.
Nevertheless, when the DHS secretary was pressed for comment on scanning of inbound boxes, she said screening was working—but scanning was not.
Napolitano, who was the sole witness before the House panel to discuss the "path forward" for the DHS, stated that improving a department as large and new as DHS requires a broad look at the current state of its programs.
"In an effort to assess security across all forms of transportation, I directed the review of transportation security in the surface, maritime, and aviation sectors," she said. "The review identified a number of areas where risks to transportation security could be reduced. Resources such as explosives detection systems and transit, rail, and port security personnel contained in the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will enable the Department to accelerate the mitigation of risk in these areas."
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