Container Security Initiative
Encyclopedia
The Container Security Initiative (CSI) was launched in 2002 by the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is the...

 (CBP), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...

. Its purpose was to increase security for container cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...

 shipped to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. As the CBP puts it, the intent is to "extend [the] zone of security outward so that American borders are the last line of defense, not the first."

Rationale

Containerized
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...

 shipping is a critical component of international trade
International trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product...

. According to the CBP:
  • About 90% of the world's trade is transported in cargo container
    Containerization
    Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...

    s.
  • Almost half of incoming U.S. trade (by value) arrives by containers onboard ships
    Container ship
    Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...

    .
  • Nearly seven million cargo containers arrive on ships and are offloaded at U.S. seaports each year.


As terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

 organizations have increasingly turned to destroying economic infrastructure to make an impact on nations, the vulnerability of international shipping has come under scrutiny. Under the CSI program, the screening of containers that pose a risk for terrorism is accomplished by teams of CBP officials deployed to work in concert with their host nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...

 counterparts.

CSI core elements

CSI consists of four core elements:
  • Using intelligence and automated information to identify and target containers that pose a risk for terrorism.
  • Pre-screening those containers that pose a risk at the port of departure before they arrive at U.S. ports.
  • Using detection technology
    Cargo scanning
    Cargo scanning or non-intrusive inspection refers to non-destructive methods of inspecting and identifying goods in transportation systems. It is often used for scanning of intermodal freight shipping containers...

     to quickly pre-screen containers that pose a risk. See Gamma ray
    Gamma ray
    Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...

     detector
  • Using smarter, tamper-evident containers.


The initial CSI program has focused on implementation at the top 20 ports shipping approximately two-thirds of the container volume to the United States. Smaller ports, however, have been added to the program at their instigation, and participation is open to any port meeting certain volume, equipment, procedural, and information-sharing requirements. Future plans include expansion to additional ports based on volume, location, and strategic concerns.

Global impact

The CSI program offers its participant countries the reciprocal
Reciprocity (international relations)
In international relations and treaties, the principle of reciprocity states that favours, benefits, or penalties that are granted by one state to the citizens or legal entities of another, should be returned in kind....

 opportunity to enhance their own incoming shipment security. CSI partners can send their customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...

 officers to major U.S. ports to target ocean-going, containerized cargo to be export
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...

ed from the U.S. to their countries. Likewise, CBP shares information on a bilateral
Bilateralism
Bilateralism consists of the political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. For example, free trade agreements signed by two states are examples of bilateral treaties. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which refers to the conduct of diplomacy by a...

 basis with its CSI partners. Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 are currently taking advantage of this reciprocity.

CSI has also inspired and informed global measures to improve shipping security. In June 2002, the World Customs Organization
World Customs Organization
The World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community...

 unanimously passed a resolution that will enable ports in all 161 of the member nations to begin to develop programs along the CSI model. On 22 April 2004, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security signed an agreement that calls for the prompt expansion of CSI throughout the European Community.

U.S. ports

  • NOTE: Information is needed here on ports participating in reciprocal agreements.

Foreign ports

47 foreign CSI ports are operational as of 2006-09-29. They include:
  • Halifax, Montreal, and Vancouver, Canada (March 2002)
  • Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2002-09-02)
  • Le Havre, France (2002-12-02)
  • Marseille, France (2005-01-07)
  • Bremerhaven, Germany (2003-02-02)
  • Hamburg, Germany (2003-02-09)
  • Antwerp, Belgium (2003-02-23)
  • Zeebrugge, Belgium (2004-10-29)
  • Singapore (2003-03-10)
  • Yokohama, Japan (2003-03-24)
  • Tokyo, Japan (2004-05-21)
  • Hong Kong, China (2003-05-05)
  • Gothenburg, Sweden (2003-05-23)
  • Felixstowe, United Kingdom (UK) (2003-05-24)
  • Liverpool, Thamesport, Tilbury, and Southampton, UK. (2004-11-01)
  • Genoa, Italy (2003-06-16)
  • La Spezia, Italy (2003-06-23)
  • Livorno, Italy (2004-12-30)
  • Naples, Italy (2004-09-30)
  • Gioia Tauro, Italy (2004-10-31)
  • Pusan, Korea (2003-08-04)
  • Durban, South Africa (2003-12-01)
  • Port Klang, Malaysia (2004-03-08)
  • Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia (2004-08-16)
  • Piraeus, Greece (2004-07-27)
  • Algeciras, Spain (2004-07-30)
  • Nagoya and Kobe, Japan (2004-08-06)
  • Laem Chabang, Thailand (2004-08-13)
  • Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) (2005-03-26)
  • Shanghai, China (2005-04-28)
  • Shenzhen, China (2005-06-24)
  • Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan) (2005-07-25)
  • Santos, Brazil
    Port of Santos
    The Port of Santos is located in the city of Santos, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. It possesses a wide variety of cargo handling terminals - solid and liquid bulk, containers and general loads. It is Brazil's leading port in container traffic...

     (2005-09-22)
  • Colombo, Sri Lanka (2005-09-29)
  • Buenos Aires, Argentina (2005-11-17)
  • Lisbon, Portugal (2005-12-14)
  • Port Salalah, Oman (2006-03-08)
  • Puerto Cortes
    Puerto Cortés
    -Geography:It is on the Caribbean Sea coast, north of San Pedro Sula and east of Omoa, at 15.85° N, 87.94° W. It has a natural bay.It is Honduras's main sea port and it is considered the most important seaport in Central America...

    , Honduras
    Honduras
    Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

     (2006-03-25)
  • Caucedo, Dominican Republic (2006)
  • Kingston, Jamaica (2006)
  • Freeport, Bahamas (2006)

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There are currently 58 foreign ports participating in the Container Security Initiative, accounting for 85 percent of container traffic bound for the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Currently Operational Ports

In the Americas
Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax, Canada (March 2002)
Santos, Brazil
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Puerto Cortes*, Honduras
Caucedo, Dominican Republic
Kingston, Jamaica
Freeport, The Bahamas
Balboa, Colon, and Manzanillo, Panama
Cartagena, Colombia
In Europe:
Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2002-09-02)
Bremerhaven and Hamburg, Germany
Antwerp and Zeebrugge, Belgium
Le Havre and Marseille, France
Gothenburg, Sweden
La Spezia, Genoa, Naples, Gioia Tauro, and Livorno, Italy
Felixstowe, Liverpool, Thamesport, Tilbury, and Southampton, United Kingdom (U.K.)
Piraeus, Greece
Algeciras, Barcelona, and Valencia, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
In Asia and the Middle East
Singapore*
Yokohama, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kobe, Japan
Hong Kong
Busan* (Pusan), South Korea
Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia
Laem Chabang, Thailand
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Shenzhen and Shanghai
Kaohsiung and Chi-Lung
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Port Salalah*, Oman
Port Qasim, Pakistan
Ashdod, Israel
Haifa, Israel
In Africa:
Alexandria, Egypt
Durban, South Africa

See also

  • Supply Chain Security
    Supply chain security
    Supply chain security refers to efforts to enhance the security of the supply chain: the transport and logistics system for the world's cargo. It combines traditional practices of supply chain management with the security requirements of the system, which are driven by threats such as terrorism,...

  • List of seaports
  • Port security
    Port security
    Port security refers to the defense, law and treaty enforcement, and counterterrorism activities that fall within the port and maritime domain...

  • SAFE Port Act
    SAFE Port Act
    The Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 was an Act of Congress in the United States covering port security and to which an online gambling measure was added at the last moment...

  • Ship transport
    Ship transport
    Ship transport is watercraft carrying people or goods . Sea transport has been the largest carrier of freight throughout recorded history. Although the importance of sea travel for passengers has decreased due to aviation, it is effective for short trips and pleasure cruises...


External links



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This article incorporates text from the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection's pages and documents on the Container Security Initiative, modified for a more global perspective.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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