Port security has been one of the areas of emphasis following the 9/11 Attacks of 2001. The implementing legislation was the SAFE Port Act. Funding from this act has provide $1.5B in funding, an average of $400M each year. Since that authorizing legislation is expiring there is a new effort in the US Senate to reauthorize legislation to continue the program.
I see the container issue as being very similar to that of the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) efforts at screening airline passengers. Did you know that there are 450M TEU (20' container equivalents) transiting the globe each year? There are 9.8 million containers that are carried to our shores each year by foreign-flagged vessels. While people are not looking at the physical container to "profile" it, there are mechanisms in place for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to screen shippers and what is being shipped. It is a pretty sophisticated operation that they have in place. Then there is the radiation detection systems that are in place to ensure that nuclear weapons or materials are not smuggled into this country.
Look for an effort following the November elections by Senators Susan Collins, R-ME and Patty Murray, D-WA to fight for the re-authorization of the legislation that has put the existing port security system in place.
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I see the container issue as being very similar to that of the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) efforts at screening airline passengers. Did you know that there are 450M TEU (20' container equivalents) transiting the globe each year? There are 9.8 million containers that are carried to our shores each year by foreign-flagged vessels. While people are not looking at the physical container to "profile" it, there are mechanisms in place for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to screen shippers and what is being shipped. It is a pretty sophisticated operation that they have in place. Then there is the radiation detection systems that are in place to ensure that nuclear weapons or materials are not smuggled into this country.
Look for an effort following the November elections by Senators Susan Collins, R-ME and Patty Murray, D-WA to fight for the re-authorization of the legislation that has put the existing port security system in place.
