TSA reviews forwarders in air cargo security pilot

TSA reviews forwarders in air cargo security pilot The Transportation Security Administration on Tuesday began the certification process for freight forwarders participating in a pilot program to test high-tech inspection systems for cargo tendered on passenger airlines.
   Fourteen large freight management firms have agreed to deploy imaging and explosives trace detection machines at 65 facilities serving 19 airports as part of the TSA’s effort to inspect 100 percent of cargo on passenger planes by August 2010. The TSA faces an interim mandate from Congress to inspect 50 percent of such cargo by Feb. 1.
   The TSA plans to certify shippers, forwarders, logistics companies and other entities to inspect cargo with scanning machines, or other techniques, to help prevent airlines from being overwhelmed with security work and delaying shipments. The technology pilot will run concurrently to help TSA gather feedback on the best systems and processes for meeting the 100 percent inspection target.
   A TSA team on Tuesday began assessing the security systems at several forwarder facilities in the Los Angeles area and will visit San Francisco and Seattle-based freight facilities later this week, Marc Rossi, branch chief for certified shipper cargo security programs, told American Shipper.
   Security assessments will begin next week at participating eastern airports, he added. The TSA will review the field reports and issue certificates to valid facilities, which can then begin screening cargo. Some facilities may experience a time lag for their start date to allow adequate time to notify all parties of their screening status.
   Other pieces of the cargo inspection program are also being readied for action. The Department of Homeland Security is expected to approve within the next two weeks new procedures for how airlines are supposed to accept pre-screened cargo to maintain a secure chain of custody, Rossi said. ' Eric Kulisch