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Secure
freight initiative begins testing
at two foreign ports
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Energy (DOE) announced the ongoing operational testing of container scanning in Honduras and Pakistan for nuclear or radiological materials before they are allowed to depart for the United States.
The tests are the first phase of the Secure Freight Initiative, which involves the deployment of nuclear detection devices to six foreign ports
Testing began April 2 in Puerto Cortes, Honduras, which is considered Central America’s main port. Tests in Port Qasim, Pakistan, the first port to participate in Secure Freight Initiative, began in March. The remaining ports of the Secure Freight Initiative include: Southampton, England; Salalah, Oman; Port of Singapore and the Gamman Terminal at Port Busan, South Korea. Those four ports will receive nuclear detection devices later this year.
Data gathered from scanning will be transmitted in near real-time to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers working in overseas ports and to the National Targeting Center. The data will be combined with other risk assessment information to improve analysis, targeting and scrutiny of high-risk containers. In the event of a detection alarm, homeland security personnel and host country officials will simultaneously receive an alert.
DHS and DOE will contribute nearly $60 million to the Secure Freight Initiative for the installation of radiation detection devices and communications infrastructure to transmit data back to the United States. DOE will invest about $4 million in Puerto Cortes for detection devices and an integrated communications system linking new assets with existing equipment.
DHS is expected to report initial results of the Secure Freight pilot program to Congress in February 2008, or later, depending on when
full-scale testing can be accomplished.
Secure Freight will provide carriers of maritime containerized cargo with greater confidence in the security of the transported shipment. To properly protect cargo in transit, shipments must be insured. Avalon Risk Management, Inc. works with premier markets to provide coverage tailored to meet specialized cargo insurance needs. Avalon offers customized cargo policies and accepts electronic reporting transmissions from your computer system or through our proprietary Internet-based system,
Marine Merlin. With Marine Merlin, the user can view policy and rate information, automatically calculate premiums, print an insurance certificate, view invoices, request special quotes via e-mail, store special quotes for the future and search for previous transactions.
To find out more, select our Cargo
brochure or application for a cargo quotation.
For further information, please contact Andriana Davis, Product Manager at
Avalon’s corporate headquarters. Andriana Davis can be reached at 847-700-8087 or at
adavis@avalonrisk.com.
Please do not hesitate to contact one of our nine regional
offices throughout the United States.
To view a directory of Avalon’s office locations, please
visit our Web site at
www.avalonrisk.com.
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