National and Global Efforts to Enhance Containerized Freight Security

In recent years it has become apparent that seaports have the potential to be a prime terrorist target, as the volume of trade that passes through ports is essential to a functioning, healthy and growing economy. Therefore, our research provides an overview of the policies, programs and procedures used to manage the security of containerized freight at U.S. seaports. This analysis is guided by the following questions: How consistent and compatible are efforts to secure the transport of international containerized freight? How systematic are these efforts? What and where are the gaps in security implementation, and how might these gaps be filled? Based on over two years of extensive fieldwork and literary analysis, our article identifies the strengths and weaknesses of existing policies on containerized freight security so as to inform the evolution of such policies. From this, we develop a list of elements relevant for a comprehensive containerized freight security system. These elements serve as an assessment tool for gauging the degree of security at domestic and international seaports. Our findings suggest that the supply chain is much safer today than it was ten years ago. Security measures in the form of advance manifest requirements, threat assessments, and verification protocols have achieved a certain amount of success with freight security and continuing operability. Areas in need of improvement depend on government ability to engage private industries in relevant security policy formulation, and on governmental success in utilizing past cooperative experiences when framing policy implementation internationally.