Israel's Ashdod port begins CSI operations

Now there are fifty-four. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that the port of Ashdod in Israel became the 54th operational Container Security Initiative (CSI) port to target and pre-screen maritime cargo containers destined for U.S. ports. CBP’s CSI was launched weeks after 9/11, and is a cooperative effort with host country governments to identify and screen high-risk shipments before they leave participating ports. More than 80 percent of all cargo containers destined for U.S. shores originate in or are transshipped through 54 CSI ports in North, South, and Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. “Securing global trade is a major priority for CBP, so I am pleased to be partnering with Israel to expand the Container Security Initiative,” said CBP commissioner Ralph Basham. “We are committed to using high-tech equipment and smarter, more secure containers to safeguard the supply chain, and realize that cooperation from our friends around the globe is our most potent weapon.”

CBP and Israel’s Customs Directorate cosigned the Declaration of Principles to bring CBP’s Container Security Initiative to the ports of Ashdod and Haifa on 26 March.