Security Briefs - May 20 - May 26
The Latest Headlines:
- U.S. Officials Warn of Possible Attacks
- IMO Urges Ports to Speed Up Security Plans
- Report: Gov't Seeks Management Companies for TWIC Tests
- Homeland Security Department Planning 'Virtual Borders'
- IMO Urges Ports to Speed Up Security Plans
U.S. Officials Warn of Possible Attacks
Homeland security and law enforcement officials began issuing warnings Wednesday of possible terrorist attacks on high-profile events throughout the summer, the Associated Press reported.The country’s top homeland security official, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, said new information that terrorist groups operating in the United States might try and attack events this summer like: the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington this weekend, G-8 summit in Georgia next month and the Democratic and Republican conventions later this summer.
Despite the apparent threat, DHS did not plan on raising the nation’s terror alert to code orange or high from its current level of yellow or elevated, AP said. Transport Topics
IMO Urges Ports to Speed Up Security Plans
The International Maritime Organization on Tuesday urged governments and shipping lines around the world to speed up implementation of security measures ahead of a July 1 deadline, Agence France Presse reported.IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos said compliance with the anti-terrorist measures under the International Ship and Port Facility Security code has been sluggish, AFP said. The IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for measures to improve the safety of international shipping.
Under the code, ports and ships are required to draw up security plans aimed at preventing terrorists from carrying out an attack on maritime facilities.
Out of 5,578 ports in 35 major shipping countries, 1,278 have submitted security plans and only 301 have been approved, AFP reported.
Compliance among ships, including oil tankers and cargo vessels, ranged between 11.5% and 22.5% as of the latest survey, AFP said. Transport Topics
ATA Says Some Escort Requirements Lifted at Sault Ste. Marie Bridge
American Trucking Associations said Monday that ATA, the Michigan Trucking Association and the Ontario Trucking Association had persuaded the International Bridge Authority to impose a moratorium on an escort requirement at the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge.The requirement, which included a $75 fee, applied to placarded loads of hazardous materials crossing the bridge that links Michigan and Canada.
ATA said that while federal law required escorts for certain types of radioactive shipments, other hazardous material shipments were exempt from escort requirements. Transport Topics
Homeland Security Department Planning 'Virtual Borders'
The Department of Homeland Security is on the verge of awarding a contract for a system that would track visitors before they arrive in the United States, the New York Times reported.The program, known as US-Visit, seeks to supplant the nation's physical borders with virtual borders, the Times said. The borders would employ networks of databases and biometric sensors for identification at sites where people seek visas.
The company that wins the contract would be asked to develop a standard for identifying visitors using tools such as fingerprints, iris scanning, facial recognition and radio-frequency chips. This technology could one day be used to increase security among truckers and transportation workers at ports.
Under the program, visitors arriving at U.S. checkpoints would face instantaneous authentication to confirm their identity and then determine if they leave on time, the Times said. Transport Topics
