HOLLINGS PUSHES BILL TO INCREASE PORT SECURITY

WASHINGTON - In a shipment of detergent passing through the Port of
Charleston in December, U.S. Customs Service agents found 3,000 pounds of
shrink-wrapped marijuana, neatly packaged under a layer of soap.

Customs proudly displayed their catch. But Customs' Port Director, Julian
Miller, also says there's no telling how much drugs and other contraband
his agents miss.

At the fourth-largest container port in the country, where 2,700 of the
vast metal boxes move through each day, customs agents say they can only
inspect less than 5 percent of shipments.

Some in federal government say they worry about the lack of security at
America's ports. Their concerns range from the import of drugs and stolen
goods to smuggling of illegal aliens and terrorism. One of those who is
concerned, South Carolina's Democratic U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, will hold
a hearing in Washington on the matter today.

"The waterfronts of the world are fairly wide open in a lot of cases,"
Miller said. "It's not like the airports where you really have things secured."

Everyone - including those in the shipping and ports industry - say
security is a high concern. A federal study of 12 American seaports,
including Charleston, found frequent crime and a lack of security standards
and equipment.

Though ports and the businesses that use them care about security, they
also care about time. Delays could snag opportunities and slow arrival of
goods.

This year, Hollings has revived a bill tightening security at seaports.
Hollings introduced a similar bill last year, which faced serious
opposition from ports concerned about the difficulty in enforcing security
mandates at ports with unique characteristics. For example, the Charleston
port bears little resemblance to Miami's.

"I don't think there's one standard way of approaching this," said Byron
Miller, spokesman for the Charleston Ports Authority. "The ports authority
supports security, but the devil's in the details."

John Hassell, the president of the Maritime Association Port of Charleston,
said ports are also concerned about who will pay for mandated security
measures. The government collects $22 billion from ports and related
businesses through assessments, but only $500 million to $800 million is
reinvested there, he said.

This time around, Hollings is hoping to have more success. For one, the
shift in the majority of the U.S. Senate has put him at the helm of the
powerful Commerce Committee, and Hollings has made this measure a priority.

The new bill calls for a federal security evaluation of each port and for
the creation of a national security task force made up of representatives
from customs, the U.S. Coast Guard, trucking companies and dock workers,
among others.

With local law enforcement, port officials would then develop a plan to
improve security. The bill also provides $80 million over four years for
security improvements like fencing and new buildings.

At the Charleston seaport, there's no question they could use more security
assistance. Charleston's port has more than 50 security officers on staff,
but they don't do cargo inspections, which fall to customs.

Recently, Hollings was able to get a million-dollar scanning machine
assigned there. It allows officials to X-ray an entire container, similar
to the scanning machines that scrutinize luggage at airports.

Despite the fact that ports are a major entry into the country for drugs,
Charleston has been unable to get a drug-sniffing dog assigned to them.
They've only been able to use one on loan.