International Cargo Conundrum

By Leslie K. Downey

When the ISO 18185 E-Seal Standard is Released, Will Containers Be Secure?
Conferees acknowledged that having this standard will be a good first step, but that much more remains to be done. First, ports and other cargo handling facilities need to invest in readers and the supporting infrastructure. Interoperability testing, funding and the politics that will accompany these public agency purchases could draw the process out for the remainder of the decade—or longer.

Second, even if ISO 18185 provides encryption and data integrity (a matter not yet resolved), additional technology and standards development will be needed. E-seals can detect unauthorized entry through the doors, but not the result. By the same token, they can't detect breaches of the container walls. Furthermore, the particular container-tracking data to be reported, and to whom (e.g., government agencies like DHS would like to receive data), must be defined, and the reporting systems paid for.

Finally, container technology is just one of the means necessary to improve cargo security. Equally (or perhaps more) important is the collection of foreign commercial intelligence. "What works," said speaker Sandra Scott, director of international relations for transportation service provider YRC Worldwide (formerly Yellow Roadway), "is gap analysis."

DHS Providing Seed Money For New Container-Technology Development
DHS has initiated several programs to spur the development of cutting-edge container security technology and analytical tools. Several of these programs feature multiphase vendor competitions. One program is the "Advanced Container Security Device," focusing on the detection and reporting of "six-wall intrusion" and dangerous materials. Another, the "Future Smart Container," includes the Marine Asset Tag Tracking System (MATTS) to facilitate universal tracking by finding clear signal paths between containers that are typically stacked tightly together, and satellites for positioning and communications. The "Secure Carton Initiative" aims at monitoring boxes within crates through intermodal transfers.

Responding to market need or DHS incentives, a host of large and small companies have developed electronic products designed variously to lock, track, monitor the contents of, report on and manage containers. At the December eyefortransport conference, four U.S. companies exhibited such products: Container Security Inc., iControl Inc., Sciguard and Safefreight Technology.

More Regulation on the Horizon?
With so many U.S. importers declining to participate in C-TPAT, and the slow pace of container seal and tracking technology standards development, uniform protection of U.S.-bound cargo would seem to be many years away. This, however, could change. "Watch for [CBP] mandates," noted Doug Doan, former business liaison for border and transportation security at DHS. The prospect of mandates is, no doubt, why many container technology vendors are hanging in.