Container Security Initiative

Containerized shipping is a critical component of international trade. According to the CBP:

• About 90% of the world's trade is transported in cargo containers.
• Almost half of incoming U.S. trade (by value) arrives by containers onboard ships.
• Nearly seven million cargo containers arrive on ships and are offloaded at U.S. seaports each year.

As terrorist organizations have increasingly turned to destroying economic infrastructure to make an impact on nations, the vulnerability of international shipping has come under scrutiny. Under the CSI program, the screening of containers that pose a risk for terrorism is accomplished by teams of CBP officials deployed to work in concert with their host nation counterparts.

Gamma-ray image of a truck with cargo container

CSI consists of four core elements:

• Using intelligence and automated information to identify and target containers that pose a risk for terrorism.
• Pre-screening those containers that pose a risk at the port of departure before they arrive at U.S. ports.
• Using detection technology to quickly pre-screen containers that pose a risk.
• Using smarter, tamper-evident containers.

The initial CSI program has focused on implementation at the top 20 ports shipping approximately two-thirds of the container volume to the United States. Smaller ports, however, have been added to the program at their instigation, and participation is open to any port meeting certain volume, equipment, procedural, and information-sharing requirements. Future plans include expansion to additional ports based on volume, location, and strategic concerns.

Much of the original idea behind the CSI program stemmed from the work of James Giermanski, who was an early proponent of Supply Chain Security.

The CSI program offers its participant countries the reciprocal opportunity to enhance their own incoming shipment security. CSI partners can send their customs officers to major U.S. ports to target ocean-going, containerized cargo to be exported from the U.S. to their countries. Likewise, CBP shares information on a bilateral basis with its CSI partners. Japan and Canada are currently taking advantage of this reciprocity.

CSI has also inspired and informed global measures to improve shipping security. In June 2002, the World Customs Organization unanimously passed a resolution that will enable ports in all 161 of the member nations to begin to develop programs along the CSI model. On 22 April 2004, the European Union and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security signed an agreement that calls for the prompt expansion of CSI throughout the European Community.

• European Commission: Taxation and Customs Union - Security cooperation with third countries
• U.S. D.H.S. : Container Security Initiative
• World Customs Organization
• American Association of Port Authorities

This article incorporates text from the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection's pages and documents on the Container Security Initiative, modified for a more global perspective.