House bill would test 100 percent container scanning at two US ports Legislation introduced Thursday in Congress would use federal funding to test whether 100 percent container scanning is feasible at two U.S. ports. The Scan Containers Absolutely Now Act, or SCAN Act, introduced on the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, is an effort to show that “the technology exists today to implement efficient scanning that does not disrupt or slow the flow of commerce, Rep. Jane Hahn, D-Calif., said in a statement. Her bill comes after the Department of Homeland Security told Congress in May that the federal mandate requiring all U.S.-bound containers to be scanned at nearly 750 ports of origin around the world was “highly improbable.” “Since September 11, 2001, our nation has taken great strides in ensuring our airports are secure, but living near the Port of Los Angeles, I know that our nation’s ports are not as secure as they should be,” Hahn said. “Top security experts recommend that shipping containers entering our ports be scanned, but 13 years later we only scan 3 percent of incoming cargo. This is unacceptable.” If the bill becomes law, ports would apply for the program, and two chosen ports would receive inspection technology from the federal government. The results of the pilot would be shared with Congress and DHS. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed the SAFE Port Act, requiring that all U.S-bound containers are scanned at ports of origin before being allowed into the U.S. DHS has repeatedly told Congress that the approach isn’t the best or most cost-effective way to protect U.S. ports from attacks. The equipment to scan containers for explosives and other toxic goods “cannot be purchased, deployed or operated at ports overseas because ports do not have the physical characteristics to install such systems,” DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson wrote to Congress in May. The better approach, Johnson said, was targeting high-risk cargo. Through the agency’s Container Security Initiative and the Secure Freight Initiative, 85 percent of cargo deemed high-risk is scanned at foreign ports before being loaded onto vessels. The World Shipping Council and the National Retail Federation argue that the implementation of mandate would increase the cost of shipping but deliver little to no benefit. There is also the challenge of convincing foreign countries to give up their sovereignty to allow technology scanning equipment at their ports. JOC NEWS - SEPT 12 2014
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 07:05:31 +0000
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