Chertoff: Private shippers who implement container safety measures would benefit

Private companies can speed up delivery time of containers bound for U.S. ports if they invest in screening measures designed to prevent terrorism, DHS secretary Michael Chertoff said Wednesday. “Investments up front and an hour or two ahead of time can save weeks at the receiving end.” Chertoff was speaking at a lunch hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. Chertoff said Washington needed the cooperation of private companies in compiling information on containers, such as the shipper, the consignee, and the method of payment in order to assess whether the goods were high risk. “The name of the game here is to essentially profile the containers,” he said.

Chertoff said security measures for containers would be most effective if implemented from the point of embarkation, rather than on arrival at a U.S. port. In Japan on Tuesday, Chertoff said Tokyo should implement a system to screen U.S.-bound shipping containers for radiation to guard against so-called “dirty bombs” and other potential terrorist attacks.