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Danger Abides at L.A.’s Ports

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Times Staff Writer

In the five years since the attacks of Sept. 11, the vast ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have been included on most lists of likely terrorist targets.

California’s attorney general ranks them third and sixth respectively on a roster of 624 possible targets in the state.

And despite millions of dollars spent bolstering security in the Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor complex since Sept. 11, maritime security experts, government officials and shipping industry leaders say the security risks are still huge.

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Tightening port security, they say, has proved complicated. Not only have costs been daunting, shippers have been extremely wary of anti-terrorist measures that would slow port operations.

As a result, significant improvements are still needed to prevent worst-case scenarios from becoming reality in the nation’s largest seaport.

“In terms of maritime security, have people done things? Yes,” said retired Coast Guard Cmdr. Stephen E. Flynn, a consultant and expert on port security. “But are we keeping pace with terrorists’ capabilities and the potential consequences five years after 9/11? The answer is no.”

The problem is partly one of scope. Together, the ports handle more than 40% of containerized cargo shipped to and from the United States. Adjacent refineries fed by marine oil terminals produce a quarter of the gasoline and other petroleum products consumed west of the Rocky Mountains. Almost a million people live in cities immediately surrounding the harbor area.

If terrorists were to explode a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb in the Port of Long Beach, Rand Corp. researchers recently calculated, it could kill 60,000 people instantly, expose 150,000 more to hazardous levels of radiation and result in more than $1 trillion in economic losses, at least 10 times the financial loss in the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center five years ago.

A key vulnerability, Flynn and others say, remains the ubiquitous cargo container, the mainstay of international commerce and a potential Trojan horse in the age of terrorism.

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There are concerns that too few containers are inspected, both in the U.S. and at foreign ports where they are loaded.

Federal studies show that radiation detectors used to scan containers on the docks have limited effectiveness and that evacuation and recovery plans for both ports are not fully developed.

Whatever the shortcomings, local officials from the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency say they are confident that current security measures serve as a deterrent to terrorists.

They note that no attacks have occurred in local ports since Sept. 11 and that authorities have successfully intervened in a number of suspicious incidents.

Coast Guard Capt. Paul Wiedenhoeft, who is in charge of security efforts in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, said several arriving cargo ships had been barred from the harbors for failing to supply the Coast Guard with required information about their crews, cargo and passengers.

Because the ships sailed away without trying to comply with requirements, Wiedenhoeft said, they were subject to further investigation. He declined to provide details, citing national security.

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“Hopefully, the fact that nothing has occurred is a reflection on the work our agencies are doing, that our efforts are making it difficult for terrorists to be successful,” said Kevin W. Weeks, director of local field operations for the Customs and Border Protection Agency.

Still, securing both ports is a daunting task. The equivalent of 7 million 40-foot cargo containers pass through the harbor complex each year, including inbound, outbound, foreign and domestic. There are about 15,000 acres of marine terminals, warehouses, private marinas, pipelines, rail facilities and waterways, easily accessible from land and sea.

Whatever is done to guard the complex must provide security without significantly impeding the enormous flow of cargo.

To accomplish that goal, local Homeland Security officials say, they have developed a “layered” security system over the last five years. Rather than search all U.S.-bound containers at considerable cost, authorities evaluate cargo using a profile designed to single out suspicious shipments for inspection.

The process begins overseas, where foreign shippers must provide the U.S. customs agency with cargo and crew manifests 24 hours before U.S.-bound containers are loaded onto a vessel. The manifests are analyzed along with intelligence about terrorist activities to determine which shipments might pose a risk, and some containers are earmarked for inspection upon arrival in the U.S.

Some 6,000 companies participating in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, which encourages private businesses to tighten their security voluntarily, are exempted from having their containers inspected.

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Another defensive layer includes the Coast Guard. Ships bound for the U.S. must notify the agency of their arrivals 96 hours in advance and provide up-to-date information about crews, cargo and passengers.

The Coast Guard evaluates the information and terrorist databases to determine which vessels should be boarded for inspection.

Of the roughly 480 ships that arrive each month in the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors, 50 to 60 are boarded and searched by Coast Guard maritime security teams before docking.

After ships arrive in port, about 6% of the containers they carry are selected to be scanned on the docks with X-ray machines and hand-held radiation detectors, officials say. Then about 6% of those are selected to be unloaded for inspection at customs facilities.

Most Cargo Unchecked

Weeks said he considered the system effective. “We make informed decisions rather than open every container,” he said. “It’s a balanced approach to protect the homeland and facilitate the movement of legitimate cargo.”

But the approach leaves most cargo unexamined. About 12,000 containers from foreign shippers arrive each day in the harbor’s 13 terminals, but only about 720 are X-rayed and roughly 40 to 50 are unloaded for detailed inspection.

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“Nothing is perfect,” said Mike Fleming, a customs agency spokesman. “We feel we are inspecting 100% of the high-risk cargo we identify, but we need more tactical intelligence and more equipment.”

All containers taken by truck are scanned by radiation detectors as they exit port terminals.

Other security measures are still in planning stages. The federal Transportation Security Agency plans to begin issuing biometric identity cards by the end of the year to 750,000 port workers nationwide.

The ID cards, which will require background checks, are expected to close a security gap related to the 12,000 truckers who operate in the Los Angeles-Long Beach complex. As part of a transient labor force with high turnover, the drivers have been largely unknown to security agencies, officials say.

Installation of automated card readers for terminal access points has been delayed because of technical problems, raising questions about the program’s initial effectiveness.

Also not fully operational are improvements supported by tens of millions of dollars in federal grants to the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.

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The money is for training, additional police officers, surveillance cameras, communications equipment, a joint command center and a $60-million container inspection facility for the ports.

So far, Long Beach has received about $33 million in federal port security grants out of $89 million requested. Los Angeles has received $26.6 million, a quarter of what it sought.

Both ports would receive substantially more for security if pending federal and state legislation is approved. A federal measure would provide about $9 billion over six years for the nation’s ports, while a state bill would generate about $150 million a year for California harbors.

Over the years, containers have been used to smuggle illegal immigrants, narcotics and counterfeit goods into the U.S. In 2002 and 2003, ABC News smuggled 15-pound cylinders of depleted uranium into the country using a shipping container.

“In Los Angeles and Long Beach, you only have five X-ray machines to screen millions of cargo containers that arrive every year. That is not enough,” said Noel K. Cunningham, a maritime security consultant who recently retired as chief of the Los Angeles harbor police.

Cunningham also ranked the effectiveness of the ports’ portable and stationary radiation detectors as a “three or four on a scale of 10.”

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According to a March 2006 report by the federal Government Accountability Office, the devices cannot detect the low levels of radioactivity emitted by nuclear weapons; nor can they detect dirty bombs -- conventional explosives packed with radioactive materials -- if they are well-shielded.

Controversy also surrounds the location of the port’s stationary radiation detectors, which screen all containers as they leave port terminals by truck.

“It’s completely ridiculous to let them sit for days in the terminal before being screened. Some could sit for a month or six weeks,” said Mike Mitre, director of port security for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. “When will safety overcome cost and commercial concern?”

Customs and shipping industry officials say there is no room on busy areas of the docks -- the so-called “high line” -- to screen thousands of containers as they come off ships. Such operations would slow unloading to a crawl, they say. At least, they argue, containers are screened before leaving the harbor.

Overseas, the federal program to check U.S.-bound containers depends on the cooperation of foreign governments, which have failed on occasion to inspect containers.

There are 2,600 commercial ports in the world, of which 575 handle a large number of containers. Forty-five foreign ports, including 20 of the world’s largest, allow U.S. customs officials to check containers.

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A GAO study found that the customs agency does not have enough staff at foreign ports to take full advantage of this access. Only about 65% of the written material submitted by shippers in advance of inspections is evaluated.

“We need more scrutiny of cargo at the ports of origin. We need more customs agents overseas. Once the container is here, the cat is out of the bag,” said Jim McKenna, chief executive officer of the Pacific Maritime Assn., which represents shipping lines and terminal operators on the West Coast.

Critics also say the customs agency programs and the Coast Guard’s effort to monitor ships rely on the accuracy of manifests, crew information and intelligence about terrorist operations.

Critics Cite Flaws

Maritime security experts say some of the information is hard to confirm, incomplete or inadequate, making it difficult to know if a ship or container presents a risk. Customs officials are working with shippers and transportation companies to obtain more detailed information about their cargo.

Furthermore, critics say, there are no guarantees that firms once validated for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism will continue the procedures that won them approval because there is no oversight. The possibility exists, they say, that terrorists might try to ship a container through a trusted company.

Shipping industry representatives and maritime security experts say that some of the problems might be overcome if a pilot program in the port of Hong Kong, the world’s busiest harbor, is successful.

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There, a system designed by Science Applications International Corp. in San Diego X-rays containers, notes their identification numbers and scans them for radiation as they are driven through inspection stations.

Alarms sound if radiation is detected. The images and readings are packaged and stored in a database so they can be evaluated immediately or later.

About 4,500 containers a day are scanned at terminals owned by Hutchison Port Holdings and Modern Terminals Limited in Hong Kong.

Port officials say there is no disruption of terminal operations. However, no one is analyzing the data, a procedure that can take five to 10 minutes per container.

After initial resistance to the idea because of potential staffing costs, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been working with major shipping lines to assess the system’s potential for U.S. ports.

Meanwhile, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been trying to develop comprehensive evacuation and recovery plans in case of a terrorist attack.

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“There is a broader problem: How we respond to an incident,” Flynn said. “The actual death and destruction from a dirty bomb is really a haz-mat problem, but it could trigger an overreaction that could disrupt a national asset. How we manage the incident is critical.”

A 300-page report by the Public Policy Institute of California indicates that the complex bureaucracy responsible for port security has made it difficult to develop such plans.

The report, which was released in July, concluded that the local harbor complex faces some of the toughest organizational challenges of any port in the U.S. At least 15 local, state and federal agencies are involved in port security, and the complex is in five political jurisdictions.

A well-planned response is critical, the study says, because of the economic importance of the port and potential for panic by fleeing harbor residents who could block the bridges and highways needed by emergency crews to reach the harbor.

At the request of Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who represents the harbor area, port officials are working on establishing evacuation and recovery procedures.

“There is no plan in place yet to help the ports get back into business,” Hahn said. “We are moving way too slowly. It’s just a matter of time before something happens here.”

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dan.weikel@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Layers of security for cargo entering the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

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Despite efforts to bolster security, terrorism experts say more improvements are needed to protect local ports from potentially dangerous cargo. This is how cargo are inspected.

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1. A day before containers are loaded on U.S. bound vessels, shippers supply U.S. customs with information about cargo. The agency decides if the container should be inspected.

2. Ships must notify the Coast Guard 96 hours before arrival in U.S. ports. The Coast Guard select some vessels to board for inspection at sea.

3. About 6% of containers are scanned with X-ray machines and hand-held radiation detectors. About 6% of those are opened for further inspection.

4. All containers leaving terminals by truck are scanned by radiation detectors.

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Weaknesses

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Of 575 foreign ports that handle large numbers of containers, only 45 allow U.S. customs officials to check containers. The program covers only 65% of shipments to the U.S.

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The customs and Coast Guard notification system relies on information about cargo, crews, passengers and terrorist activities that can be inaccurate, incomplete and difficult to confirm.

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The two ports receive about 12,000 containers per day. About 720 are X-rayed and about 50 are opened for examination for their contents.

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Radiation detectors are not sensitive enough to detect radioactivity from nuclear weapon or from well-shielded dirty bomb. They also produce many false positives.

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Before they are scanned at terminal exits, containers can sit for days or weeks in ports.

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Source: Times reporting.

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