Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

An aerial view of the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach.

Security measures
Port security begins before cargo is even loaded on a ship for the trip to the United States. The 24-hour rule permits CBP to take a look at cargo destined for the United States. CBP looks at all components of a shipment including the importer, country of origin, carrier, type of merchandise and frequency of shipments to determine how closely to inspect a shipment. If something stands out, the Advanced Targeting Unit either stops the container from being loaded on the vessel at the foreign port or will let CBP Officers know that they should stop a particular shipment and take a closer look at it. This closer look may entail unloading each and every container in that shipment to ensure that the items listed in the paperwork match the actual contents of the containers.

Vessel Clearance
The next step in the security process happens before the vessel arrives at the port. A vessel operator will come to the port office to make an appointment for an arriving vessel to be cleared. The Marine Exchange Report, which contains a snapshot of all the vessels due, is updated twice a day and faxed to the vessel operations office.

At the appointed time, a crew of three CBP Officers checks each ship. All officers on the vessel clearance team are cross-designated and perform both customs and immigration duties as required. They can also verify compliance with agricultural controls if no agriculture specialists are available to go on the clearance inspection.

The vessel clearance teams also use a computer program that was originally designed for harbor pilots to use, which lets CBP track vessels arriving in port, while in port or leaving port. The program uses a large graphic of the port and shows where each ship is located in real time.

Scanning a ‘can’
Another way of making sure that the cargo loaded in a container, or ‘can,’ matches the manifest and that nothing else is packed in a container, is to scan the containers with a mobile x-ray-type unit. These units use a truck-mounted gamma ray imaging system that produces radiographic images so that operators can look inside trucks, containers, cargo, and passenger vehicles to find contraband, including narcotics and stowaways. A 40 ft. container can be scanned in six seconds and the images on the screen compared to the cargo listed on the manifest. If there is an area on the screen that doesn’t appear to match the manifest, or is too dense to see through, the can is referred to one of the warehouses for further examination.

Prior to the gamma-ray scan, the seals on the containers are checked to make sure that they have not been tampered with and the containers are scanned by CBP Officers with hand held radiation detectors and radiation pagers. If radiation is detected, the officer checks the manifest for any cargo that might emit radiation such as nuclear materials, natural sources, and isotopes used in medicine and industry. If nothing is found on the manifest to explain the radiation, the officer takes another reading of the radiation signature and downloads it to Laboratory and Scientific Services (LSS).

Consolidated examination warehouses
Containers are selected for further examination every day and are transported to one of four exam warehouses – one for enforcement and three for trade compliance examinations.

Containers targeted for enforcement exams are transported to an examination warehouse by drivers who have passed a background investigation. At the warehouse the container seal is again checked for tampering and the container is unloaded and assigned to a CBP officer who will determine what type of inspection will be carried out. After the contents are unloaded, the container itself is given a six-point check of the walls, ceiling and the floor.

A canine examines the contents to check for concealed narcotics. A hand-held radiation device is used to check for radiation. Crates and boxes will be opened and/or sent through a pallet gamma-ray machine. If the contents are too dense to be inspected by gamma-rays it will be transferred over to an X-ray machine. If nothing is found, the container will be repacked and released from the warehouse. If a violation is found, further research will be done on the container and the manifest, and it will be referred to another examination team or to another agency. Container investigation and prosecution may ensue.

While containers for enforcement examinations are selected because of a hit on the manifest, containers selected for merchandise examinations are selected because of anomalies in the entry process.

Separately, CBP Officers doing merchandise examinations look for quota, visa and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) violations. The port of LA/LB leads the nation in IPR seizures. CBP works very closely with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the two agencies often refer cases to each other.

Finally, the agriculture specialists at the port of LA/LB work very closely with the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture examinations at the warehouses are scheduled on a seasonal basis depending on what type of produce is arriving.

Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

The morning staff meeting at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach is a crucial part of the day.

The men and women who work at the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach know that they are on the frontline, and they are dedicated to the CBP mission of protecting America from terrorists and their weapons while facilitating lawful international trade. They also work to keep counterfeit and dangerous goods, and harmful insects and diseases out of the country.

Other port of Los Angeles/Long Beach components Advanced Targeting Unit that covers the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach and Hueneme targeting shipments for further inspection Command center, “the pulse of the port,” that tracks what is going on in the port, the state, the country and the world Anti-terrorism cargo enforcement team Outbound team to inspect outgoing cargo Vessel operations team that boards every vessel arriving from a foreign port Two cruise ship facilities–one each in Los Angeles and one in Long Beach where 1.5 million passengers were inspected in FY 05 Import specialist teams for wood, petroleum and wearing apparel, among other commodities Radiation portal monitors at ten terminals, with two terminals online soon Five non-intrusive inspection trucks, with three more on the way

Agriculture examinations For most people the word “terrorist” means a person who is plotting to destroy the American government and our way of life. But there are other “terrorists” who are not coming into the United States on two legs; they come in on six, eight or even no legs. These terrorists are the insects and snails that come in as hitchhikers with legitimate cargo and if not found could severely impact or destroy our livestock, agriculture or environment. Agriculture specialists working in the advanced targeting unit target meat from New Zealand, which needs a veterinary certificate; tiles for snails that come in the packing material; and the Asian Gypsy Moth which has to be inspected for seasonally and in the early morning hours. When the sun comes up and it gets warm, the moth flies away. These are just a few of the things that the Ag specialists look for. When a commodity arrives that could harbor an insect or snail visitor, an operation is launched for an all out hunt to locate and eradicate the hitchhikers. Not long ago, Operation S-Cargo targeted a shipment of wine from Australia that contained snails. Agriculture examinations at the warehouses are scheduled on a seasonal basis dependant upon what type of produce is arriving. The 35 Agriculture specialists at the port of LA/LB work very closely with the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture.