World Shipping Council criticizes World Customs Organization security rules

World Shipping Council criticizes World Customs Organization security rules    The supply chain security guidelines adopted by the World Customs Organization do not go far enough, a senior official of the World Shipping Council said.
   “It appears that the WCO is either unwilling or incapable, or both, of addressing container security in a meaningful and comprehensive way,” Chris Koch, president and chief executive officer of the Washington-based ocean carrier group, told the Panama Canal Authority’s Conference on Maritime Security on Monday (Dec. 1).
   “It may yet produce guidelines or ‘best practices’ for these issues, but this would seem to fall far short of an international instrument comparable to the International Ship and Port Facility Security code,” Koch added, referring to the compulsory International Maritime Organization code.
   Koch alleged that “there are too many governments’ customs officials at the WCO that either do not see cargo security as within their responsibility, or do not see it as an issue requiring meaningful WCO action.”
   He warned that, without an effective international body addressing these issues, further U.S. cargo security measures will be undertaken either on a unilateral basis or pursuant to bilateral Container Security Initiative agreements. The Container Security Initiative is a program of the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection that seeks to identify high-risk containers in cooperation with the customs administrations of other countries.
   “In this regard, we welcome the announcement last month that the European Commission and U.S. government have agreed to intensify and broaden their customs co-operation to improve the security of sea containers and other shipments that are imported into, transshipped through or transiting the European Community and the United States,” Koch said.
   However, Koch warned that trades with lesser volumes, such as the Latin America trades, should not be overlooked or disadvantaged in the security initiatives. “We encourage Latin American governments to not only make sure that their vessels and port facilities are International Ship and Port Facility Security code compliant by July 1, but that they carefully consider the steps involved and potential value in entering into Container Security Initiative agreements,” he said.