War of Words Heats Up Over Terrorist Threat to US Seaports

Four US Senators are pushing forward legislation that could see imported cargo monitored from the moment it is packed overseas, in an attempt to prevent terrorist attacks. But the nation’s shippers and logistics companies – not to mention security experts – aren’t happy with the idea.

In an article on the Logistics Management website, Patrick Burnson says shippers “are fearful that some of our key trading partners may not only resist it…but retaliate.” They worry countries won’t continue to the do business in the US if inspection procedures become too severe.

The call for the new legislation is being sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, with three other prominent Democratic senators – Robert Menedez, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer – joining him in calling for approval of the Port Authority of New York-New Jersey Port Security Task Force Implementation Act.

“The new bill... will enforce a ban on container shipments failing to meet new minimum standards from entering US ports,” Burnson says. “It also mandates that each US gateway initiate its own regional response and recovery plan.

Some security experts, though, are critical of the approach, saying it represents ad hoc responses to a problem requiring more research.

“While I’m delighted the government is paying attention to the issue, they are not going about the inspections in a completely sensible way,” Bob Frucci, director of domestic business development for CGM Applied Security Technologies, told Burnson. “While the containers can [be] examined at the point of origin, they can still be tampered with during transit. Security standards throughout the supply chain have yet to be determined.”