By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. customs chief on Thursday unveiled a new voluntary program to beef up security of transportation shipping containers, promising faster customs inspections for those joining the effort.
Under the plan, shipping companies, manufacturing firms and others would agree to place sensors in their containers allowing inspectors to see if the cargo had been opened after it was packed. The shippers would also put an improved lock on the container.
"This is a very, very important piece of our overall strategy to perform and protect what is essentially our priority mission," said Robert Bonner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner. That "is to prevent terrorist weapons from entering the United States."
In a report released earlier this month, the Rand Europe think-tank said a terror attack using containers, even if it did not kill huge numbers of people, could paralyze trade by shutting down a major port.
The new U.S. program would not end the possibility of attacks by way of shipping, but it might make it easier for inspectors to focus on more suspect cargo, Bonner said.
"You're trying to narrow the haystack, and that's pretty important when you've got 7 million cargo containers in the United States on an annual basis," Bonner told a briefing with a small group of reporters, including Reuters.
The program is part of U.S. efforts to boost security by working with private industry in the "Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism" that includes firms such as General Motors , Motorola and Target .
"It is voluntary, it is not mandating by regulating," Bonner said after addressing shippers at a San Francisco conference. "We give them the green lane, in other words, their shipments will not be held up."
He said better locks would cost just $1-$2, and the sensors for the containers would probably end up costing about $20 once they were widely used. They might monitor light, heat or pressure, for example, to detect if the container was opened.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the United States reached agreements with the world's major ports to boost security for cargo bound for the United States. Under the program, U.S. officials work with foreign port authorities to identify, target and search high-risk cargo.