SEEKING SAFE HARBORS

The Clinton administration has set up a commission to carry out a one-year
study of crime and security problems afflicting the nation's ports.

The initiative reflects growing concern over the concentration of criminal
activities at many U.S. ports, and the need for a federal-level response to
the situation. It is modeled on a similar program in the aviation sector
launched by Vice President Al Gore in 1997, following a study carried out by
the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security.

Named after its principal sponsor, Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., the Graham
Commission on Seaport Crime and Security will be co-chaired by three cabinet
members: Attorney General Janet Reno, Secretary of Transportation Rodney
Slater and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. It will include up to 25 members
from Executive Branch departments and agencies.

A statement issued by Graham noted that there is no federal agency with
comprehensive authority to regulate activities at seapots, a shortcoming
that has serious consequences. For example most U.S. seaports do not have
identification control, which makes it relatively easy for unauthorized
individuals involved in criminal activities to access port areas.

The commission will look at a range of issues including terrorism and what
is regarded as the most costly property crime in the nation: auto theft. Of
the 1.4 million vehicles stolen annually in the United States, more than
200,000 are exported through the nation's ports.

Cargo theft is also on the agenda, as is drug trafficking. It is estimated
that during fiscal 1998, 50 metric tons of cocaine were concealed in
commercial shipments and shipped directly into the U.S. through seaports.

Graham acknowledged in his statement that while these problems are national,
Florida is particularly hard hit. For example, recent surveys indicate that
up to 50 percent of dockworkers at the Port of Miami have prior felony
criminal records, many including drug trafficking offenses, according to the
statement.

Gail Toth, executive director, Transportation Loss Prevention and Security
Council, agreed that port security is seriously inadequate at U.S. ports,
and welcomed the federal commission. Toth said the loss of cargo within
ports is a problem and is often the result of inside information. A lack of
effective access controls leaves ports vulnerable to cargo thefts,
particularly when "impostor drivers" take loads from terminals, she said.

But according to Toth, "the biggest problem is how we identify the stolen
goods shipped out of our ports." Stolen merchandise is often exported via
U.S. ports and it is very difficult to detect this illicit cargo since it
usually has been repackaged and is accompanied by legitimate documentation,
she pointed out.

Cargo TIPS, the council's national cargo crime information system, has a
theft alert facility that automatically alerts the freight community and law
enforcement of thefts, she said. In Florida "a lot of freight is stolen in
the northern section of the state, but it usually ends up in Miami," said
Toth. "We have to try and identify the cargo before it gets to the port."

Ed Badolato, chairman, National Cargo Security Council, would like to see
the commission investigate the problem of cargo losses within ports as well
as in the immediate vicinity of terminals. "When the cargo is picked up and
moved outside the port for distribution, this is where the real problem of
theft occurs," he said. "We have to look at it as an integrated intermodal
system," he added.Badolato supports the commission's brief to study the
problem. "There is tremendous room for improvement in the cargo security
handling area overall among the numerous ports in the U.S.," he said.After
it has completed its year-long study, the commission will be required to
report its findings to Congress and make policy recommendations for reducing
crime, enhancing infrastructure and improving oversight of U.S. ports.