Responsibility for the Implementation of the Container Security Initiative

Erik Hoffer has published an article entitled “Responsibility for the Implementation of the Container Security Initiative’ in this months issue of Port Technology International. The article offers an overview of different types of effective door to door seals and lock bars. These devices are the recommended standard of care for all sea containers! The article explains the responsibility of shippers in protecting the worlds supply chain through the use of these barrier and indicative seal systems. According to Mr. Hoffer, products such as the Navalock MKIIIA and MKIIB manufactured by Navatech, provide the most robust seal possible for swing door containers. These devices, unlike locking bars that are locked solely with a cable seal, provide a far more robust seal and the highest level of protection possible. Navatech’s founder Victor Navarsky is credited with inventing the original door to door lock bar. Mr. Navarsky, now deceased, developed this system in 1986 and provided the guidance needed to industry to secure the worlds supply chain long before the events of 911.For the past 7 years the United States Government, through many of its internal agencies, has asked the world to help secure our borders by securing their internal supply chain from terrorists. Although the process and desire is noble, the specific marching orders have failed to materialize, leaving the world in a quandary as to how to achieve a non defined goal. The CSI or Container Security Initiative is an excellent overall concept but it also fails to create and define a functional and implementable stuffing and seal process from which ports can audit the security of the boxes they process. Without continuity of the seal and the sealing technique, no reliable port audit can take place. Additionally without a simple visual inspection to insure containment through each phase of the supply chain, no effective overall solution to cargo containment can exist.

Intelligence is now the main factor in determining which containers receive further scrutiny. No one can guaranty that your box will not be randomly selected for further scrutiny, but the onus is on the shipper to protect his cargo, not on the ports. The process of the 24 hour rule in reporting freight content, shipper and many other criteria provide the basis for evaluation and help ports, and those in charge of oversight, with data suitable for such a back office process. Regardless of the data source, content, shipper or other critical data for evaluation can be intentionally wrong. Terrorists can easily and surreptitiously penetrate a container whose documents are accurate and use that box as a weapon. Based on current use of bolt seals, terrorists and smugglers can easily penetrate the containers doors and ship illicit freight in your container with contraband content such as currency, drugs or explosives and the ports will not have any ability to detect it. Security sealing, with this threat in mind, is a formidable task. What best sealing practices can be implemented as shippers to both meet their needs for cargo protection and the CSI mandates for supply chain security? One thing is certain, that without adequately defending against container penetration by thieves with a terrorists can beat the system.

Secure stuffing must be the responsibility of the shipper. He must audit containers supplied to him for false walls and floors and must insist on empties being sealed when they arrive at his dock and after unloading them in his yard. Sealing must be done with a suitable cable to retain the containers own steel keeper rods and thereby avoid the surreptitious introduction of materials into empties, whether coming or going.

The sealing of a filled box by the shipper must be somewhat more robust, as no one has the luxury of opening it during transit for inspection. Sealing of a container must provide for security in both an indicative or visually inspectable sense, and as a barrier to entry.

U.S. Customs at one point in time adopted an ISO PAS specification for seals known as 17712. That recommendation, while valid in some physical areas, failed to address seal function and was eventually dropped in August 2006 by DHS leaving seal security decisions to the shipper. Shippers were never given any specific seal type to use to be compliant with CSI, C-TPAT or any International container security program, and consequently reverted to cost as the basis for security. Cost vs. security is a dangerous combination and fraught with potentially tragic results. The essence of the CSI and similar programs worldwide is to define with specificity, just how the shipping public can help our ports reliably secure containers such that the screening process by the ports for containers in their temporary care, can ferret out suspect shipments and thereby reduce the threat.

Sealing in general terms use to primarily take into account the level of protection desired to determine the product and process used; but in today’s post 911 environment, these eclectic processes fail to meet the worlds security needs. Seal types and processes must be brought up to a consistent world wide standard thereby achieving a level of security beneficial to all supply chain members and the National security interest of all handling ports. Lock bars such as made by Navatech, the inventor of lock bar technology back in the mid 1980’s, as by far the most efficient and secure method of sealing containers. Their MKIIB and MKIIIA are pictured in this article. Many steam ship lines such as APL are major users of these steel devices. Other secure sealing methods use 48” cable seals to wrap around the keeper rods, such that no handle hub manipulation or rod extraction is possible. Indicative self adhesive door seals provide a unique level of protection by showing a visible record of penetration whether or not the port operator knows the seal number. Visible voiding helps determine penetration from port to client by showing up readily through simple visual screening on the rail or on delivery trucks prior to custody changing hands at destination.

Whether security is achieved by process, intelligence or brute force 100% inspection, the seal remains the key element to keeping the doors shut during transit. The seal therefore is the most integral component in any supply chain systems and must be made consistent, robust and scrutinized throughout the logistical process to be effective.

Not every world port is a CSI facility and because of that, we cannot just bypass these ports of call. Without a robust system, used consistently, the world remains unprotected regardless of the good intentions of this initiative.