24 May 2005

Megaports a Megaflop?

The following article is excerpted from the 16 May 2005 edition of “Traffic World”.

Infighting among U.S. federal agencies and foreign resistance to U.S.-imposed rules may mean global ports are becoming more, not less, vulnerable to terrorism.

That's the warning of a growing chorus of critics, including the federal government's chief internal watchdog, the Government Accountability Office.

The GAO released a report this month criticizing a U.S. initiative aimed at equiping foreign ports with radiation detection equipment for failing to make much headway overseas.

Under the Megaports Initiative, the Department of Energy negotiates the installation of equipment at foreign ports to ferret out nuclear threats before they reach U.S. shores. In two years, however, the program has outfitted only two ports -- and one of those ports primarily serves passengers.

Radiation detectors are in place at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and the Port of Piraeus, Greece.

Through Sept. 30, 2004, the DOE spent $43 million on the Megaports project. The United States pays for the equipment but eventually the host country is expected to pick up the cost of operating it. But in spite of benefits for the host country, the program is meeting resistance.

"DOE's Megaports Initiative has had limited success in initiating work at ports identified as high priority by its Maritime Prioritization Model because DOE has been unable to reach agreement with key countries, such as China," the GAO concluded. …

However, the problems U.S. agencies face implementing security plans extend beyond negotiations with foreign governments and ports, experts say.

A retired FBI agent who is now a maritime security consultant criticized the federal government's emphasis on technology as the answer to port security rather than training. ...

Cross also said the focus on major ports is misplaced. He pointed to a pattern of terrorist activity showing that terrorists looking to bring contraband into the United States via a port are more likely to use smaller, less policed ports.

Also, there is a sense around the world that the United States has overstepped its boundaries in the maritime security realm. …