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Indian ports face security risks
2009/2/20
Navy chief admiral Sureesh Mehta has warned that terrorists could smuggle in nuclear weapons through containers coming into India, DNA reported.
He called for heightened security to ensure safety of sea-borne cargo.
"Today, 70 percent to 75 percent global cargo is containerised. It has been acknowledged that containers are the most likely means for a terrorist organisation to illegally transport a nuclear weapon and, hence the serious concern over container security," Mehta said.
The naval chief pointed out that after 9/11, the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorist (C-TPT) were put into place "considering that more than 50 percent of the value of all US imports arrived in containers".
He added that ports have to put in place comprehensive security to ensure that nothing illegal enters or leaves from there. "Nuclear is only one aspect of it. We have to ensure 100 percent security at ports by scanning containers under X-ray machines. Every country has to accede to it that wherever, whichever port the container leaves from, that country certifies that this container is fully secure," Mehta said.
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2009/2/20