Washington, D.C. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the government of Oman announced that the Port of Salalah today becomes the 43rd operational Container Security Initiative (CSI) port to target and pre-screen maritime cargo containers for terrorists and terrorist weapons destined for U.S. ports.
CBP and the government of Oman signed the declaration of principles on November 19, 2005.

The Container Security Initiative was launched in January 2002 and is a revolutionary and dynamic initiative to secure maritime cargo shipments against the terrorist threat. Information about containers headed to the U.S. is sent 24-hours prior to departure. Representatives from the government of Oman, working with CBP officers based in Oman, will be responsible for screening any containers identified as a potential terrorist risk.

The Port of Salalah will utilize large-scale and sophisticated radiological detection equipment to identify nuclear material under a provision with the U.S. Energy Department’s MegaPorts Initiative.

“CSI’s continuing expansion fully supports the CBP mission of protecting the American public against terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States while fostering our Nation’s economic security through lawful international trade,” said Acting Commissioner Deborah J. Spero.

Currently, there are operational CSI ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North and South America. Approximately 75 percent of cargo containers headed to the U.S. originate in or are transshipped from CSI ports.

CSI is an accepted model of international cooperation to protect the global supply chain against terrorism. CBP’s goal is to have 50 operational CSI ports by the end of 2006. At that time, approximately 82 percent of all cargo imported into the United States will be subjected to pre-screening. On average, every day about 40,000 seagoing containers are offloaded at America’s seaports.

The World Customs Organization (WCO), the European Union (EU), and the Group of Eight Nations (G8), support CSI expansion and have adopted resolutions implementing CSI security measures at ports throughout the world.