The Container Security Initiative (CSI) a.k.a. the 24-Hour Rule was launched in 2002 by the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency of the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

. Its purpose was to increase security for container

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

shipped to the United States. As the CBP puts it, the intent is to "extend hezone of security outward so that American borders are the last line of defense, not the first."

Rationale

Containerized Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pr ...

shipping is a critical component of

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant s ...

. According to the CBP: * About 90% of the world's trade is transported in cargo

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

s. * Almost half of incoming U.S. trade (by value) arrives by containers onboard

ships A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguishe ...

. * Nearly seven million cargo containers arrive on ships and are offloaded at U.S.

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

s each year. As

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

organizations have increasingly turned to destroying economic infrastructure to make an impact on nations, the vulnerability of international shipping has come under scrutiny. Under the CSI program, the screening of containers that pose a risk for terrorism is accomplished by teams of CBP officials deployed to work in concert with their host

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

counterparts.

CSI core elements

CSI consists of four core elements: * Using intelligence and automated information to identify and target containers that pose a risk for terrorism. * Pre-screening those containers that pose a risk at the port of departure before they arrive at U.S. ports. * Using detection technology to quickly pre-screen containers that pose a risk. * Using smarter, tamper-evident containers. The initial CSI program has focused on implementation at the top 20 ports shipping approximately two-thirds of the container volume to the United States. Smaller ports, however, have been added to the program at their instigation, and participation is open to any port meeting certain volume, equipment, procedural, and information-sharing requirements. Future plans include expansion to additional ports based on volume, location, and strategic concerns. Much of the original idea behind the CSI program stemmed from the work of James Giermanski, who was an early proponent of Supply Chain Security.

Global impact

The CSI program offers its participant countries the reciprocal opportunity to enhance their own incoming shipment security. CSI partners can send their

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

officers to major U.S. ports to target ocean-going, containerized cargo to be

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

ed from the U.S. to their countries. Likewise, CBP shares information on a

bilateral Bilateral may refer to any concept including two sides, in particular: *Bilateria, bilateral animals *Bilateralism, the political and cultural relations between two states *Bilateral, occurring on both sides of an organism ( Anatomical terms of l ...

basis with its CSI partners. Japan and Canada are currently taking advantage of this reciprocity. CSI has also inspired and informed global measures to improve shipping security. In June 2002, the

World Customs Organization The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The WCO works on customs-related matters including the development of international conventions, instruments, and tools on topics suc ...

unanimously passed a resolution that will enable ports in all 161 of the member nations to begin to develop programs along the CSI model. On 22 April 2004, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security signed an agreement that calls for the prompt expansion of CSI throughout the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

Participating ports

U.S. ports

* ''NOTE: Information is needed here on ports participating in reciprocal agreements.''

Foreign ports

47 foreign CSI ports are operational as of 2006-09-29. They include: * Halifax, Montreal, and Vancouver, Canada (March 2002) * Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2002-09-02) * Le Havre, France (2002-12-02) * Marseille, France (2005-01-07) *

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the Port, seaport of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a States of Germany, state of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a enclave, semi-enclave in the st ...

, Germany (2003-02-02) * Hamburg, Germany (2003-02-09) * Antwerp, Belgium (2003-02-23) * Zeebrugge, Belgium (2004-10-29) * Singapore (2003-03-10) * Yokohama, Japan (2003-03-24) * Tokyo, Japan (2004-05-21) * Hong Kong, China (2003-05-05) * Gothenburg, Sweden (2003-05-23) * Felixstowe, United Kingdom (UK) (2003-05-24) * Liverpool, Thamesport, Tilbury, and Southampton, UK. (2004-11-01) * Genoa, Italy (2003-06-16) * La Spezia, Italy (2003-06-23) * Livorno, Italy (2004-12-30) * Naples, Italy (2004-09-30) * Gioia Tauro, Italy (2004-10-31) * Pusan, Korea (2003-08-04) * Durban, South Africa (2003-12-01) * Port Klang, Malaysia (2004-03-08) * Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia (2004-08-16) * Piraeus, Greece (2004-07-27) * Algeciras, Spain (2004-07-30) * Nagoya and Kobe, Japan (2004-08-06) * Laem Chabang, Thailand (2004-08-13) * Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) (2005-03-26) * Shanghai, China (2005-04-28) * Shenzhen, China (2005-06-24) * Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan) (2005-07-25) * Santos, Brazil (2005-09-22) * Colombo, Sri Lanka (2005-09-29) * Buenos Aires, Argentina (2005-11-17) * Lisbon, Portugal (2005-12-14) * Port Salalah, Oman (2006-03-08) *

Puerto Cortes Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

(2006-03-25) * Caucedo, Dominican Republic (2006) * Kingston, Jamaica (2006) * Freeport, Bahamas (2006) There are currently 58 foreign ports participating in the Container Security Initiative, accounting for 85 percent of container traffic bound for the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Currently Operational Ports Container Security Initiative Ports, U.S. Department of Homeland Security website , reviewed on Sept 25, 2011
/ref> In the Americas *Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax, Canada (March 2002) *Santos, Brazil *Buenos Aires, Argentina *Puerto Cortes*, Honduras *Caucedo, Dominican Republic *Kingston, Jamaica *Freeport, The Bahamas *Balboa, Colon, and Manzanillo, Panama *Cartagena, Colombia In Europe: *Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2002-09-02) *Bremerhaven and Hamburg, Germany *Antwerp and Zeebrugge, Belgium *Le Havre and Marseille, France *Gothenburg, Sweden *La Spezia, Genoa, Naples, Gioia Tauro, and Livorno, Italy *Felixstowe, Liverpool, Thamesport, Tilbury, and Southampton, United Kingdom (U.K.) *Piraeus, Greece *Algeciras, Barcelona, and Valencia, Spain *Lisbon, Portugal In Asia and the Middle East *Singapore* *Yokohama, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kōbe, Japan *Hong Kong *Busan* (Pusan), South Korea *Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia *Laem Chabang, Thailand *Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) *Shenzhen and Shanghai *Kaohsiung and Chi-Lung *Colombo, Sri Lanka *Port Salalah*, Oman *Port Qasim, Pakistan *Ashdod, Israel *Haifa, Israel In Africa: *Alexandria, Egypt *Durban, South Africa

Notes

External links

European Commission: Taxation and Customs Union - Security cooperation with third countries

U.S. D.H.S.: Container Security Initiative

American Association of Port Authorities
''This article incorporates text from the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection's pages and documents on the Container Security Initiative, modified for a more global perspective.'' {{Authority control International security United States and weapons of mass destruction United States Department of Homeland Security Intermodal containers