Security is a top priority for everyone involved at the ports.  Federal agencies in the Department of Homeland Security have the primary responsibility for ensuring safety at our ports, but everyone who works on and around the ports must play a role in helping keep our shores safe.  Port security has two goals – to keep our port facilities secure and to keep hazardous cargo from entering the country.

Cargo Security 

The U.S. Customs Service begins its review and screening of cargo and ships (including crews) headed for the U.S. with a detailed manifest of every container at the foreign port of origin – tracking where cargo is packed and loaded. 

The federal government has clear authority for port security – and that authority extends abroad to foreign ports and ships before cargo is laden onto ships bound for the U.S.  Port security is under supervision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes the U.S. Coast Guard (offshore and waterside) and the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (landside), along with local law enforcement to provide a multilayer approach. 

All marine terminals are required to follow federal and international security requirements.  Manifests and containers are inspected again prior to reaching the U.S., and the Coast Guard will board in-bound ships to inspect and deny entry to any suspect cargo 200 miles offshore.  Every single container entering a U.S. port is screened, and those identified as higher risk are submitted to more intentive examinations.  Trucks leaving the port with cargo drive through Radiation Portal Monitors to check again for restricted or illegal goods and substances. 

Port Facility Security 

Marine terminal operators are closely involved with the federal and local agencies overseeing port facility security, including drawing up security plans that must be approved by the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies in the Department of Homeland Security.  The Coast Guard also conducts regular audits and annual exercises to ensure port security preparedness.  Port Authorities are also actively engaged in securing port facilities with their own port police forces or with local municipal police authorities. 

Questions and Answers

Who Pays for Security?

Aside from some federal security grants, all port security costs are financed by the ports themselves – primarily through rents, fees and tariffs paid by terminal operators.  In 2005, the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland increased port tariffs by 5 percent to help recover the increased costs of doing business, including security costs.

What Can Be Done to Strengthen the Security of California Ports?  

There are new technologies on the horizon that may help improve port cargo and facility security.  The Integrated Container Inspection System would improve and expedite container screening, increasing the number of containers that could be scanned or inspected while keeping port traffic flowing.  

The Transportation Worker Identification Credential program has already been implemented in some ports and is soon to be required nationwide.  It uses biometrics to accurately verify the identity of individuals and prevent unauthorized access of secure areas.  These and other programs and technologies can help us better identify risk and create more secure ports.

What is the role of marine terminal operators?

 Detailed federal security guidelines provide a clearly defined security role for marine terminal operators, primarily in securing the port facilities. Marine terminal operators handle the logistics of loading and unloading cargo containers to and from ships and the receipt and delivery of containers with landside transportation.  Terminal operators are not informed of the contents of a container unless it is hazardous material that needs special handling.  If containers appear to have been tampered with or arrive unsealed, terminal operators are held responsible for notifying law enforcement authorities.

Within the established regulations, terminal operators employ only documented workers as security personnel to secure the site and control admission. 

There are roughly 12 or more major marine terminal operators at U.S. ports today; many are owned by foreign entities, some are U.S. owned.  The presence of a large number of foreign-owned marine terminal operators at U.S. ports is a direct result of the large presence of foreign carriers operating in international maritime trade, as many terminal operators are subsidiaries or joint ventures of ocean carrier companies.  Bottom line – no matter who owns the terminal operating company – all operators are subject to the same rigorous state and federal security laws and regulation.