ROTTERDAM SEAPORT JOINS CUSTOMS’ CONTAINER SECURITY INITIATIVE

ROTTERDAM SEAPORT JOINS CUSTOMS’ CONTAINER SECURITY INITIATIVE    The U.S. Customs Service on Monday said the government of the Netherlands has agreed to allow the port of Rotterdam to participate in Customs’ Container Security Initiative.
   A declaration of principles was signed yesterday by Gerrit Zalm, Dutch minister of finance, and Robert Bonner, the U.S. Customs commissioner, which allows Rotterdam, Europe's largest container port, to be the first port in Europe to announce participation in CSI.
   CSI, launched by Customs in January, is a Customs initiative intended to prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons of mass destruction and other contraband in cargo containers.
   “This important first agreement in Europe will provide a significant measure of security for the Netherlands, the United States, and the global trading system as a whole,” Bonner said.
   “The goal of this cooperation is to mutually exchange information aimed at identifying containers that carry a high risk,” the port of Rotterdam said.
   Through the agreement, Customs will place a small team of American inspectors in Rotterdam equipped with U.S.-targeting databases. They will work jointly with Dutch Customs officers to target sea containers bound for the United States. Dutch Customs officers, assisted by U.S. officers, will be responsible for screening any containers identified as a potential risk.
   A spokesman for the Dutch Customs told American Shipper that the Dutch government will remain responsible for security at the port of Rotterdam, but it will exchange information, and combine information on risk analysis, with U.S. Customs.
   “The declaration will not only contribute to improving the level (of security) in U.S. ports, but also in other ports,” the port of Rotterdam said.
   “If a lot of ports actually join the Container Security Initiative proposed by the Americans, the safety/security of logistic chains around the world will be improved,” the Dutch port added.
   U.S. Customs officials to be deployed in the port of Rotterdam will start working there “very soon,” according to the Dutch Customs.
   The port of Rotterdam handles more than 300 million tons of goods annually, and more than 6 million containers. Last year, approximately 291,000 sea cargo containers entered the U.S. from Rotterdam.
   Earlier this year, Customs inspectors were placed at the Canadian seaports of Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver to pre-screen cargo offloaded at those ports and bound for the U.S. Customs is in discussion with several other nations in Europe and Asia for CSI enrollment.