• Big problems with RFID deployment at Los Angeles-Long Beach ports

    The first day of using RFID tags caused a reported 1,500 trucks to be turned away from the Port of Los Angeles and delays of more than an hour at the Port of Long Beach

  • Raytheon offers airborne radar for India's homeland security

    India is paying more attention — much more attention — to homeland security in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai bombing; among the first priorities is securing the very long coast lines of the country; Raytheon, already a presence in India, stands to benefit

  • Accord reached on intensified campaign against Somali piracy

    Nine countries around the Gulf of Aden sign an accord enhancing cooperation in the fight against piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden

  • Napolitano issues first action directives

    On her first day in office, new DHS secretary issues five action directives centering on protection of critical infrastructure, transportation, and on better intelligence sharing among federal, state, and local levels of government

  • CBP highlights C-TPAT accomplishments

    The Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program (C-TPAT) was established in 2001 to build cooperative relationships that strengthen and improve international supply chain and U.S. border security; DHS says program is achieving its goals, with more than 8,000 applicants validated since 2003

  • U.S. Coast Guard launches Long Range Identification and Tracking

    New system, connected to the U.S. National Data Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia

  • Congress to address port security

    Chairman of a congressional panel returns from a visit to Honk Kong, Vietnam, and the Philippines and says Congress should make a decision next year on whether or not to move toward a 100 percent container inspection policy

  • New U.S.-bound cargo security rule to go into effect in January

    Current security regulations required importers and shippers to file entry information with U.S. Customs fifteen days before a ship arrives at a U.S. port; new regulations will require that shippers file much more detailed information — and do so before they even load the merchandise onto their ship at the port of origin; U.S. Customs will demand that suspicious cargo, or cargo about which the information is incomplete, not be loaded

  • Somali pirates benefit from a global network of informers

    During the past fifteen years many Somalis have left the country in search of work; many found jobs in major European and Middle eastern ports; some of them now serve as eyes and ears for the pirates back home, providing information about ships’ cargo, routes, and security on board

  • Cruise passengers flown to Dubai to avoid pirates

    The owners of the German cruise ship Columbus decided on a new way to deal with piracy off the coast of Somalia: The 246 passengers were flown to Dubai to await the ship — and the ship itself, with but a skeletal crew, sail at top speed through the dangerous waters of the Gulf of Aden, hoping to avoid being raided by pirates

  • IMO calls on UN to take tougher action on piracy

    The International Maritime Organizations urges countries with the naval capacity to do so “to take part actively in the fight against piracy and armed robbery against ships”

  • Briefly noted

    Raytheon awarded contract for exploratory nuclear detection research… Navies may get tougher on piracy after tanker seizure… U.S. donates nuclear detection equipment to Nigeria

  • Grappling with the pirate problem

    The Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, and the Gulf of Aden, are among the most sensitive choke points in global commerce; trouble is, the stable, the comparatively wealthy Southeast Asian countries that line the Malacca Strait have committed their naval and coastal forces to stamping out hijackings and piracy, but the Gulf of Aden is bordered by poor or dysfunctional countries like Djibouti, Yemen, and particularly Somalia

  • Modern-day piracy poses growing threats, challenges

    Forget Captain Kidd, wooden legs, or treasure maps; modern pirates are equipped with supercharged speedboats, large-caliber weaponry, and all the radio intercept technology they need to identify and locate valuable ocean-going booty; on 9/11 we saw what damage a jumbo jet could do when used as a weapon; how about a supertanker as a weapon?

  • TWIC deadline for Florida -- and the U.S. -- looms

    Florida port workers have until 13 January 2009 to pay the $132 and register for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential card; entry to all U.S. ports will require the TWIC card as of 15 April 2009