3 ports start 100-percent cargo scanning

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Ports in Britain, Pakistan and Honduras have become the first to implement radiation screening of 100 percent of U.S.-bound cargo containers.

Southampton Container Terminals in Britain, Port Qasim in Pakistan -- both of which are managed by Dubai Ports World -- and Puerto Cortez in Honduras are the first seaports to meet the requirements of last year’s SAFE Port Act, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection in a statement Monday.

“Preventing a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb attack has to be one of our highest priorities,” said Customs and Border Protection Deputy Commissioner Jayson Ahern. “This initiative advances a comprehensive strategy to secure the global supply chain and substantially limits the potential for terrorist threats.”

About $60 million in U.S. funds was used to install scanning systems at the ports and a communications infrastructure that will transmit the scanning data back to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center for analysis.

Four additional ports are also scheduled to begin scanning shortly, though only on a limited basis, said the statement: Singapore’s Brani terminal; the Gamman terminal at Busan in Korea; Hong Kong’s Modern Terminal and Salalah in Oman.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration had “partnered with these ports because they pose different challenges and provide diverse environments in which to evaluate various options” for container scanning, said the statement.

Customs and Border Protection noted the role of the Department of State in providing diplomatic assistance to negotiate the necessary bilateral agreements for the program to go ahead.

“The U.S. Government is committed to working with our foreign partners, to include trade and industry, to implement 100 percent scanning in a logical and practical manner that does not adversely affect global trade,” concluded the statement.