Data integration is key to Secure Freight, Spero says

Data integration is key to Secure Freight, Spero says The concept that distinguishes the Secure Freight initiative unveiled last week by Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff from existing container security programs is data integration that ties the programs together, said Deborah Spero, deputy commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
   The first iteration of Secure Freight involves six foreign ports that will use non-intrusive inspection equipment to scan the contents of containers and take radiation readings to detect nuclear weapons and material, as well as other contraband associated with terrorists and criminals. The systems combine imaging, optical character recognition and radiation portal monitors in one location, rather than requiring separate security procedures at different locations within a port.
   Chertoff said 100 percent of containers in Southampton, England; Port Qasim, Pakistan; and Puerto Cortes, Honduras, will be inspected by automated means to prevent slowing down traffic. The Department of Homeland Security is taking gradual steps at the Port of Singapore, Port Salalah in Oman, and the Gamman Terminal in South Korean's Port of Busan because of the complexity of laying out the equipment on the existing footprint and the volume of traffic in those ports.
   The deployment of the integrated inspection system is being done on a limited scale because it is designed as a pilot project to determine the feasibility of collecting container readings and determining whether a box should be stopped before loading on a vessel.
   Speaking to the Trade Support Network, an industry sounding board meeting this week in Arlington, Va., Spero said the key performance metric that will be measured in each location is the amount of throughput handled by the system.
   The effectiveness of the pilot will also be judged on the quality of the images, the ability to integrate the physical data with shipment data on the manifest, the timeliness of data transmissions to CBP and how quickly CBP and foreign customs authorities can resolve alarms, she said.
   'It's a whole new world for us. It builds on previous programs, but takes it to a new level with data integration,' Spero said.
   The Container Security Initiative is a program in 50 ports in which local customs officials conduct selective outbound inspections at the request of U.S. officers that have run shipping and other data through a computer to flag suspicious activity.
   The objective of Secure Freight is to create the capability to inspect every container using automated means. DHS designers envision being able to marry other types of data beyond the manifest to the physical readings to make better security determinations.
   The three ports with limited pilot programs will have integrated container inspection systems at one inbound truck lane, Spero said.