Air express and cargo shipments from 14 “countries of interest” must be subjected to extrasecurity measures as an emergency measure, while moves to screen all cargo carried on freighter
aircraft are put in place, according to an influential US Representative.Edward Markey, who was instrumental in pushing through legislation requiring 100% screening ofcargo carried on passenger aircraft in the US, has written to US President Barack Obama requestingimmediate action to “address the air cargo screening gap for cargo planes”, in response to therecent discovery of high-explosive devices hidden in shipments from Yemen within the UPS and FedExair express networks.
Markey said: “As an immediate response, intensifying our screening efforts of all cargo fromthese countries of interest is a smart and straightforward step we can take to ensure that bothpassenger and cargo planes don’t become carriers for bombs. This list of countries should include,but not necessarily be limited to, those same nations for which the Transportation SecurityAdministration (TSA) ordered enhanced screening techniques for passengers bound for the UnitedStates following the failed attack of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab last year.”
CEP-Research understands the “countries of interest” list to include: Afghanistan, Algeria,Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen, as well as countries thatare considered “state sponsors of terrorism” by the US: Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.
A number of countries, including Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the UShave placed bans on air freight shipments from Yemen, with UK authorities expanding the ban toinclude unaccompanied air freight from Somalia. Germany said it was also considering extending itsban on cargo from Yemen to other origin points, while the UK and the Netherlands are understood tohave placed restrictions on air freight shipments from Nigeria, as well as on shipments of largetoner cartridges – of the kind used to conceal the explosives in the recent bomb attempt – exceptfrom recognised suppliers.
CEP-Research understands that some operators in the UK, including DHL, have also placed anembargo on shipments to Yemen and Somalia.
UK security authorities have faced criticism from some sources in the US because they initiallyfailed to find the 300 grammes of the explosive PETN hidden within one of the two shipments,despite being tipped off about the presence of explosives within the shipment. The UK has generallybeen thought to have one of the world’s most effective air cargo security regimes, although expertssaid PETN was a particularly difficult explosive to detect, using the equipment currently availableto the air cargo industry. The device had also passed through UPS’s main European hub at Germany’sCologne airport without being detected.
Markey said he also planned to introduce legislation when Congress reconvenes later this monthto require all cargo carried on freighter and passenger aircraft to received full screening.Legislation requiring 100% screening of air cargo carried on passenger aircraft from and within theUS came into force in August. Plans to enforce screening of all cargo on inbound passenger flightswere put on hold for two years, because of problems enforcing the rules in other countries, whilefreighter aircraft were excluded, as a result of lobbying from shippers and cargo airlines,including UPS and FedEx.
Germany’s interior minister Thomas de Maizière this week also openly criticised internationalair cargo security procedures and called for new Europe-wide rules, claiming air cargo shipmentscurrently undergo relatively few checks compared to passengers – something he claimed had “obviously been recognised and taken advantage of” by terrorists.
Although Democrat Representative Markey will face opposition from some Republicans, who thisweek regained control in the House of Representatives, some observers believe that the discovery ofpowerful explosive devices hidden within the air express networks of the US integrators will makeit far more difficult for politicians to resist calls for 100% screening of cargo carried onfreighter aircraft.
Airline and shipper representatives have expressed concern about possible new rules requiring100% screening of all air cargo, and have welcomed the targeted approach so far taken by countriesaround the world.
