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Early
January
2007 |
Dear Customer &
Friends of Seajet!
As
always, there never is a dull moment in Washington and the New Year
starts out with a slew of new proposals which, if passed, will have a
serious impact on moving your freight.
For this reason, we are publishing the text of some interesting
information which has been distributed by CONECT (Coalition of New
England Companies for Trade). Seajet has been a CONECT member for many
years.
QUOTE
The House passed a bill, part of the House Democrats "100 Hours" of
legislation. This first bill mandates screening of all cargo loaded on
passenger jets. As reported, they previously passed the 100% radiation
screening for all containerized ocean imports. Final passage is far from
certain, as both bills will run into opposition in the Senate. The
Washington Post, which is otherwise an enthusiastic supporter of the new
Democratic Majority, has already opined that these bills may be
undesirable, divert scarce security resources, and perhaps are more
about sound bites and scoring political points, than good policy. The
following article is a pretty good summary.
As lawmakers in Washington, D.C. passed broad new anti-terrorism
legislation including strict new rules concerning air cargo shipped in
bellies of passenger aircraft, air cargo voiced concern of potential
negative impact on commerce.
Some experts believe that these cargo restrictions once enacted could
impact the efforts of U.S. flags, finally making money again by
utilizing cargo-capable, long haul aircraft to build their bottom lines,
as the boom in business brought on by route expansion overseas continues
to take hold.
Others are pointed in their dismissal of the move as political
posturing. “To deter terrorists from exploiting international trade, the
U.S. currently relies on counterterrorism and intelligence programs
combined with risk assessments, random checks, and the inspection of
suspicious high-risk cargo,” said James Jay Carafano, (right) a senior
fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “The House bill replaces that system
with one that mandates ‘strip searching’ every package and container
coming from overseas.”
Calling the Democrat lead measure a “feel good” attempt, Carafano said
that passage of the bill means the private sector and foreign countries
will be forced to spend billions of dollars on these inspections even
though they would likely be no more effective than current programs. “In
fact,” he said, “the new rules could be much more easily circumvented by
terrorists.” Carafano argues that by diverting energy and resources into
mass screening, Americans will also feel less safe.
Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist and
author who maintains that existing safeguards are insufficient, however;
“Unless a package from a ‘known shipper’ arouses suspicion or is subject
to a random search it is taken on trust that its contents are safe,” he
says.
Captain Gary Boettcher, president of the U.S. Coalition of Airline
Pilots Associations, agrees, noting that the known shipper system “is
probably the weakest part of the cargo security today.” “There are
approximately 1.5 million known shippers in the U.S. “There are
thousands of freight forwarders. “Anywhere down the line packages can be
intercepted at these organizations,” he said.
Those taking positions against a wholesale “security overhaul” point out
that The September 11 Commission stated in its last report that any new
measures should be carefully balanced. The report added that protecting
planes against shoulder-fired missiles was just as vital as cargo
inspection, and that threat of an explosive onboard could be mitigated
by having “bomb-resistant” containers.
Indeed, Homeland Security Department officials stated that there is no
“proven” technology for such comprehensive cargo screening. According to
Russ Knocke, a Homeland Security Department spokesman, the screening for
air cargo is estimated to cost $3.6 billion over the next ten years.
As presently crafted, the bill requires that within three years, all
cargo on passenger jet aircraft be inspected for explosives, as checked
baggage is now. Currently, about 30 percent of air cargo on passenger
planes is inspected by dogs or screening devices. The International Air
Transport Association, meanwhile, continues to champion “globally
harmonized” security measures.
Such a policy, IATA says, will provide a high level of security “while
also ensuring the efficient movement of air cargo that is so vital to
the global economy.” To facilitate this effort, IATA has developed
industry “best practices” and quality assurance systems as reflected in
its Cargo Services Conference.
Just as U.S. lawmakers are tightening the screws on belly cargo,
analysts are predicting a huge surge in global services -particularly in
Asia. But politics is driving this activity as much as anything else,
with a newly empowered Democrat majority in U.S. Congress feeling the
need to show an American public sick of the Iraq War, the U.S. President
and the status quo out of Washington, that their mandate to deliver new
leadership for change is being met.
UNQUOTE
Seajet will
continue to share important news and we hope this information is of
interest and value to you.
Sincerely yours,
Ronald W. Hiemann,
CEO
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