The Container Security Initiative (CSI) 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, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

. Its purpose was to increase security for container

cargo In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...

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 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 significan ...

. 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 on board

ships A ship is a large vessel that travels the world's oceans and other navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished from boats, ...

. * 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 Hamburg, Manc ...

s each year. As

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

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 type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

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 Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

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 a ...

ed from the U.S. to their countries. Likewise, CBP shares information on a bilateral basis with its CSI partners. Japan and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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. Notable projects include its collaboration with the WTO on trade facilitation and the implementation of the SAFE Framework of Standar ...

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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

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 organisation 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 (; ) is a city on the east bank of the Weser estuary in northern Germany. It forms an exclave of the Bremen (state), city-state of Bremen. The Geeste (river), River Geeste flows through the city before emptying into the Weser. Brem ...

, 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,

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

(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