2007 Maritime Security Expo: Security challenges, business opportunities
these specific difficulties is a deeper and more fundamental issue: The United States relies heavily on a free and expeditious flow of goods, and to the extent that better security hobbles and disrupts this economic vitality, it represents a real cost to the system.
Where there is a security need, there is a business opportunity. This is the message E. J. Krause conveys in organizing its annual U.S. Maritime Security Expo (MSE), to be held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York on 27-28 November. Dozens of speakers will address the various aspects of port and maritime security, and dozens of companies will be exhibiting their products and solutions. There is a lot to address, and there is much to exhibit. The effort to protecting ports, harbors, terminals, and ships against cargo theft, smuggling, drugs, weapons, and terrorism has led to several policy and legislative in initiatives, and has been accompanied by significant expenditures by the government and private sector. Among the legislative initiatives we should note the Port and Maritime Security Act of 2002, Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA), and its international counterpart, the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS). The Container Security Initiative (CSI), is now operational in nearly fifty ports, the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) now boasts more than 10,000 participating companies, and the WCO SAFE Framework is in effect — all are indicative of the growing recognition by governments and industry of the need to address security in the international maritime transportation and supply chains. DHS’s Secure Freight Initiative, and the Transportation Security administration’s (TSA) efforts to increase the safety of handling air cargo, point to a continuing focus on the safe movement of cargo in maritime and other transport modes.
The MSE organizers correctly point out that the SAFE Port Act, signed into law in October 2006, has authorized more than $3.4 billion annually over five years for port security and $400 million a year over the next five years for training and exercises at ports. The act also stipulates a number of standards and requirements designed to enhance seaport security. It requires, for example, that the twenty-two largest U.S. ports use radiation portal monitors and next-generation technologies to allow for comprehensive radiological screening of essentially all container movements entering the United States by land or sea. DHS is required to establish pilot programs in three foreign ports to test nonintrusive cargo inspection technologies to screen 100 percent of U.S.-bound containers. The TWIC program, mandating background checks and credentialing programs for port employees — and those entering ports regularly — is finally here, launched with 5,000 employees and the port of Willmington, Delaware last month. DHS has also been working on establishing protocols for the resumption of port operations following a disruption; and enhanced benefits, such as fewer customs inspections, will be provided for trusted shippers and companies meeting established security standards.
The problems discussed at the MSE — and the products and solutions exhibited in the exhibit hall — relate not only to acts of terrorism, but also to the disruption of port operations as a result of natural disasters suich as Hurricane Katrina. Continuity of operations means that the government and private sector need to devise strategies and build the infrastructure capabilities to ensure that trade continues to flow if there is a disruptive incident, regardless of the source of such incident.
The growing awareness of the need to secure U.S. ports and, more generally, the global maritime transportation system against disruption; the changing legislative and regulatory landscape; the emergence of international security standards, and the growing amounts of money allocated by the government and private sector, all mean that the public and private focus of port security and supply chain resilience will continue and intensify for years to come.
The Maritime Security Exposition offers a good opportunity to take stock: How far have we come to make ports more secure and maritime transportation less vulnerable — and do so with as little disruption as possible of the free flow of commerce. The speakers on the different panels will offer their analyses and insights, while companies active in the field will showcase technologies, products, and services designed to help with port and maritime security as well as port expansion, modernization and maintenance, and congestion.
