05 December 2002
U.S. Customs Agents Part of Anti-terror Efforts in Le Havre, France
(U.S. grateful for French participation in Container Security
Initiative) (340)
The United States is grateful to the government of France "for
aggressively implementing" the Container Security Initiative (CSI),
Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner said December 3 as he announced
the deployment of four American Customs officers to the French port of
Le Havre.
Under the program, small teams of U.S. Customs inspectors work at
foreign seaports to pre-screen U.S.-bound cargo containers in an
effort to prevent terrorists from infiltrating maritime shipping. Nine
countries have signed CSI agreements with the United States, and since
the program was initiated in January 2002, 5.7 million seaborne
containers have been searched.
Following is a Customs Service press release:
(begin text)
U.S. Customs Service
Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
CUSTOMS ANNOUNCES CSI DEPLOYMENT AT LE HAVRE
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner today
announced the deployment of four U.S. Customs officers to the French
port of Le Havre, marking the latest step in the agency's Container
Security Initiative (CSI).
CSI is designed to prevent terrorists from infiltrating the world's
sea cargo environment by improving security at key seaports worldwide.
Under the program, U.S. Customs inspectors at foreign seaports target
and pre-screen U.S.-bound cargo containers before they are shipped to
America. Non-intrusive inspection technology is used to screen the
containers for weapons of mass destruction, before the containers are
loaded on ships bound for the United States.
"I am grateful to the French Government for aggressively implementing
CSI," said Commissioner Bonner of today's announcement. "We continue
to make major progress in creating a more secure environment for
maritime cargo, for ports, and for the world economy as a whole."
To date, nine countries have agreed to participate with U.S. Customs
under CSI. These agreements cover 15 ports, all among the top 20 ports
that handle shipments bound for the United States.
CSI was initiated in January of 2002. In 2001 alone, U.S. Customs
processed 5.7 million sea containers. Over 200 million sea containers
move between major seaports each year. About 70 percent of all
ocean-bound cargo destined for the U.S. passes through or originates
in just the top 20 ports.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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