US Customs repeats committment to 100% scanning
US Customs and Border Protection has repeated its commitment to 100% scanning on all US-bound containers by 2012.
“Congress is very clear on full scanning and we will comply with the law,” said assistant commissioner for field operations Thomas Winkowski.
Speaking at the Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference, Winkowski highlighted that “full scanning is working” at the test ports in Pakistan, Honduras, Southampton in the UK and one terminal in Hong Kong.
He added that Singapore is currently in the midst of implementation along with South Korea and Oman.
Winkowski also said that radiation portal monitors have been installed at more than 1000 locations in the US, with 91% of containers from Canada already being scanned.
Reports however say that many delegates at the Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference were skeptical of Winkowski's claims.
Known as the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act, the bill proposing the scanning was approved by Congress in July last year.
Its provisions affecting freight and cargo have drawn criticism from within and outside the shipping industry amid fears that the law could damage commerce.
The most controversial aspect of the bill is a the 100% scanning of all maritime cargo containers entering the US for nuclear devices.
The measure requires US-bound containers to be screened at foreign ports before being loaded.
Janet F Kavinoky, director of transportation infrastructure for the US Chamber of Commerce, has called the 100% scanning mandate an "unacceptable policy."
A RAND Corp. study in June 2006 found that 100% container scanning could slow each twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) by as much as 5.5 hours depending on the scanning method used.
John Lu, chairman of the Asian Shippers' Council, has predicted that 100% scanning will slow down cargo and "cause gridlock at ports."
The European Union (EU) has also criticized the law.
Despite Winkowski's latest comments, recent reports indicate growing concern about the law in the US Congress.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has been quoted saying that many of the proponents of the 9/11 Implementation Act now understand that the 100% scanning mandate is unworkable and they would be willing to repeal it.
Sources say, however, that nothing is likely to happen before the November presidential elections.
“Congress is very clear on full scanning and we will comply with the law,” said assistant commissioner for field operations Thomas Winkowski.
Speaking at the Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference, Winkowski highlighted that “full scanning is working” at the test ports in Pakistan, Honduras, Southampton in the UK and one terminal in Hong Kong.
He added that Singapore is currently in the midst of implementation along with South Korea and Oman.
Winkowski also said that radiation portal monitors have been installed at more than 1000 locations in the US, with 91% of containers from Canada already being scanned.
Reports however say that many delegates at the Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference were skeptical of Winkowski's claims.
Known as the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act, the bill proposing the scanning was approved by Congress in July last year.
Its provisions affecting freight and cargo have drawn criticism from within and outside the shipping industry amid fears that the law could damage commerce.
The most controversial aspect of the bill is a the 100% scanning of all maritime cargo containers entering the US for nuclear devices.
The measure requires US-bound containers to be screened at foreign ports before being loaded.
Janet F Kavinoky, director of transportation infrastructure for the US Chamber of Commerce, has called the 100% scanning mandate an "unacceptable policy."
A RAND Corp. study in June 2006 found that 100% container scanning could slow each twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) by as much as 5.5 hours depending on the scanning method used.
John Lu, chairman of the Asian Shippers' Council, has predicted that 100% scanning will slow down cargo and "cause gridlock at ports."
The European Union (EU) has also criticized the law.
Despite Winkowski's latest comments, recent reports indicate growing concern about the law in the US Congress.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has been quoted saying that many of the proponents of the 9/11 Implementation Act now understand that the 100% scanning mandate is unworkable and they would be willing to repeal it.
Sources say, however, that nothing is likely to happen before the November presidential elections.