Port and Maritime Security: Background and Issues for Congress

Abstract

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 heightened awareness about the vulnerability to terrorist attack of all modes of transportation. Port security has emerged as a significant part of the overall debate on U.S. homeland security. The overarching issues for Congress are providing oversight on current port security programs and making or responding to proposals to improve port security. The U.S. maritime system consists of more than 300 sea and river ports with more than 3,700 cargo and passenger terminals. However, a large fraction of maritime cargo is concentrated at a few major ports. Most ships calling at U.S. ports are foreign owned with foreign crews. Container ships have been the focus of much of the attention on seaport security because they are seen as vulnerable to terrorist infiltration. More than 9 million marine containers enter U.S. ports each year. While the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) analyzes cargo and other information to target specific shipments for closer inspection, it physically inspects only a small fraction of the containers.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 27, 2005
Accession Number
ADA453735

Entities

People

  • John F. Frittelli

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cargo Ships
  • Coast Guard
  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Freight Transportation
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Law
  • Marine Transportation
  • Maritime Domain Awareness
  • Maritime Industry
  • Maritime Security
  • National Governments
  • Personnel Management
  • Radiological Weapons
  • Security
  • Security Personnel

Readers

  • Maritime Security/Maritime Homeland Security
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Systems Analysis and Design