Ahern envisions limited role for CSDs

Ahern envisions limited role for CSDs Difficulty finding a reliable container security device likely precludes mandating shippers' use of the technology on all ocean containers entering the country, but could be useful in limited applications, a top Homeland Security official said Tuesday.
   'I'm not sure we'll see an application that will go on every one of the 12 million containers' imported into the United States, said Jayson Ahern, deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, at a small maritime security conference in Alexandria, Va.
   His comments reflect the agency's well-known skepticism that the technology's ability to electronically warn of unauthorized tampering with the cargo box doors do not always hold up to vendor performance claims in real-world transport conditions.
   CBP is expected to release a CSD requirements document in the next few weeks to provide clear guidance to technology providers on performance specifications needed to gain certification for approved use in cargo security programs. Device makers have complained that the lack of specifications has made it hard to meet CBP's expectations. The delay in developing specifications reflects the agency's internal struggle to separate fact from fiction about the capability of tamper-evident CSDs, Ahern acknowledged.
   He reiterated longstanding concerns that a false alarm rate of 1 percent, or more, for such a huge universe of containers, would create a huge daily workload for inspectors at ports to check and make sure nothing had been illegally planted inside during transit.
   That means that for the vast majority of containers the agency wants a device that is close to perfection. The deputy commissioner also questioned the value of mandating shippers use the device across the board, saying the Department of Homeland Security is wary of saddling companies with extra costs for marginal security benefit. Focusing limited security resources on container imports to the exclusion of other threats is unwise, he added.
   But Ahern did allow that the agency is conceptually considering the idea that it 'could tolerate a false alarm rate of 2 to 3 percent' on some unique trade lanes where the risk is perceived to be high, such as land transit from Mexico. Those situations merit extra scrutiny anyway, and a CSD might help detect criminal or terrorist attempts to breach a container and smuggle drugs or weapons into the country, he suggested.
   Last summer, Commissioner Ralph Basham indicated that the agency had loosened its original threshold for nuisance alarms to 1 percent or 2 percent because it has managed to deal with high false alarm rates for radiation portal monitors at inbound truck gates. He didn’t qualify the circumstances under which lower tolerance levels would be accepted.
   Basham also said CBP would view voluntary use of CSDs as a best practice for companies participating in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. Companies that opt not to take on extra cost for the devices will face the extra cost of less predictable customers clearance and potential delays, he said.