U.S. inspectors are set to begin screening cargo containers at Singapore’s seaport before they are shipped to the United States, U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Robert Bonner said yesterday (see GSN, May 31).

Under the agreement, U.S. Customs inspectors will be stationed at an overseas port for the first time, according to the Washington Post.  U.S. inspectors have already begun cargo container inspections at three Canadian seaports.

“Singapore represents a very important milestone,” Bonner said, adding he hopes to sign similar agreements with other U.S. trading partners soon.  “We need to put this program in place as broadly and as quickly as we can.”

Under the arrangement, U.S. inspectors will help mark “high-risk” cargo containers for more intensive searches by Singapore authorities, Bonner said.  Inspectors will also check the containers using radiation detectors, X-ray machines and gamma-ray imaging systems to detect any weapons of mass destruction that might be inside, he said (see GSN, June 5).  Customs expects to have inspectors stationed in Singapore early this summer, officials said.

A majority of the sea traffic into the United States comes from European and Asian ports, according to the Post (see GSN, Jan. 31).  As part of a new container security plan, Bonner is working to develop similar inspector-stationing agreements with the governments of 20 seaports that account for 60 percent of all cargo container traffic into U.S. ports, the Post reported.

Customs officials are expected to meet today with officials from Hong Kong, the biggest exporter of sea cargo containers to the United States, according to the Post.  Singapore is the third largest exporter to the United States, sending 330,000 containers annually (Washington Post, June 5).

Cargo Security System Test a Success

Also yesterday, the U.S. Transportation Department announced successful completion of a test of a new cargo container security system.

The test, conducted by the department’s Intelligent Transportation Systems program, evaluated the use of electronic seals (E-Seals) on cargo containers as they traveled from ports of origin to the United States.  The seals transmit shipment information to reader devices and alert inspectors if a shipment has been compromised.

“This new technology will help to enhance the security of our nation’s transportation system by enabling us to track cargo shipments into the United States,” Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said in a press statement.  “E-Seals are just one part of our department’s security-focused program that applies both technology and human capital to safeguard America’s transportation system” (U.S. Transportation Department release, June 4).

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