 | Secretary Ridge announces Container Security Initiative's Phase II
By Maggie Myers, Public Affairs Officer, Office of Public Affairs |
In June, Secretary Tom Ridge, Department of Homeland Security, and Commissioner Robert C. Bonner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, announced that the Container Security Initiative (CSI) will be expanding to strategic locations beyond the 20 initial major ports to include ports in the Middle East such as Dubai, as well as ports in the Americas and Africa."The Container Security Initiative is based on an idea that makes sense: extend our zone of security outward so that America's borders are the last line of defense, not the first line of defense," said Commissioner Bonner. "Through CSI, we'll identify and screen high-risk cargo containers at foreign ports before they set sail for the United States to prevent terrorist threats before they become a reality." | | Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte |
| DHS Secretary Tom Ridge, with CBP Commissioner Robert C. Bonner and New Jersey Governor James McGreevey announce Phase II of the Container Security Initiative at the Port of Newark.
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About 90 percent of the world's cargo moves by container. In the United States, almost half of all incoming trade (by value) arrives by containers on board ships. Almost seven million cargo containers arrive and are offloaded at U.S. seaports each year."In its first phase, which focused on implementing the program at the top 20 foreign ports, the Container Security Initiative has emerged as a formidable tool for protecting us from the threat of terrorism," said Secretary Ridge.Governments representing 19 of the top 20 ports have agreed to implement CSI. The top 20 ports are points of passage for approximately two-thirds of cargo containers shipped to the United States.CSI is now operational in 16 ports including Rotterdam, Le Havre, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Antwerp, Singapore, Yokohama, Hong Kong, Göteborg, Felixstowe, Genoa, La Spezia, Busan, Vancouver, Montreal, and Halifax."As part of CSI Phase 2, we will be expanding CSI to other ports that ship substantial amounts of cargo to the United States and that have the infrastructure and technology in place to participate in the program. CSI Phase 2 will enable us to extend port security protection to more than 80 percent of all containers coming to the United States-casting the safety net of CSI far and wide," Commissioner Bonner said.The governments of Malaysia, Sweden, Sri Lanka, and South Africa have also joined CSI. In Europe, CBP is looking to expand CSI to at least 11 additional ports that meet the specific security standards. These ports include Livorno, Gioia Tauro, and Naples, Italy; Liverpool, Thamesport/Tilbury, and Southhampton, England; Marseille/FOS, France; and Zeebrugge, Belgium. |
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