Port security pitfalls
Some 95 percent of the goods imported into the United States come by sea, so it's no secret that many security hawks take the security of the nation's 361 commercial seaports very seriously. But the issue gained a new urgency this week when members of Congress on both sides of the aisle–as well as several Republican governors–came out gunning against a decision to allow Dubai Ports World, a company owned by the government of United Arab Emirates, to take over operations at some terminals at six U.S. ports as part of a $6.8 billion merger deal with a British shipping company.
Although it built up quite a rumble in Congress, many security hawks and industry analysts were puzzled by the intensity of the uproar. Currently foreign-owned companies operate 30 percent of the shipping terminals in the United States. Another company controlled by a foreign government–Singapore's APL Limited–operates terminals in Seattle; Los Angeles; Oakland, Calif.; and Dutch Harbor, Alaska. And although port operators load and unload vehicles off ships, the primary security responsibility falls to the U.S. Coast Guard, customs officials, and the police hired by port authorities.
"It's surely a sensitive industry, and there is no question that when you manage a port, you have intimate knowledge of what goods move through the port and how the screening works," says Richard Falkenrath, a former White House homeland security adviser. "That said, [the port ownership issue] still strikes me as an extremely minor factor."
Here's a rundown of some of the long-standing gripes of port-security specialists, many of whom refer to the U.S. maritime system as the country's "soft underbelly":
• Funding shortfalls: Although the government has doled out roughly $629 million in port security grants since 9/11, many say the funds are not nearly enough. The Coast Guard has said that basic security measures expected of ports–like adding fencing, lighting, and surveillance cameras–will cost $5.4 billion over the next 10 years. The Department of Homeland Security insists it spent some $1.6 billion on a variety of port security programs last year, a 700 percent increase since fiscal year 2001. Still, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican head of the Homeland Security Committee, has a bill that would create a $400 million pot of port grant money each year.
• Holes in valuable overseas security programs: This week, representatives from DP World have repeatedly asserted that their port participates in a program that allows U.S. inspectors–based at the port in Dubai–to inspect containers deemed "high risk" before they are even loaded on to the ship destined for U.S. shores. A report by government auditors last May reported that of the 40,628 containers deemed high risk at participating ports between late 2002 and mid-2005, some 10 percent were not inspected. In some cases, containers left the ports without inspectors realizing they had gone. In others, officials at foreign ports declined to allow the requested inspection.
• Weaknesses in trusted shipper programs: Currently, thousands of companies have agreed to add things like high-security container seals and extensive employee background checks to their packaging facilities in exchange for lesser scrutiny by U.S. customs officials. Trouble is a report released last spring by the Government Accountability Office indicated that the government allowed companies to reap the benefits of membership before the customs auditors even checked if their facility had the proper security measures in place. As of May 2005, the department had audited only 11 percent of the trusted shippers. This earned the program the nickname "Trust, Don't Verify" in security circles.
• No plan of action in place for after an attack: DHS has not yet released a plan expected in early 2006 that would explain what the proper procedures are if a U.S. port is subject to a dirty-bomb attack. Absent a plan of action, some worry that the humming U.S. shipping network–which handles some 9 million containers each year–could easily come to a complete standstill after a terrorism incident.