GAO says military cargo shipments at risk
Federal officials have long been concerned about lax security at U.S. seaports, but the possibility of war with Iraq is raising new fears about the vulnerability of military cargo shipments.
A recent study by the General Accounting Office found that federal agencies responsible for security do not effectively share information about threats with port authorities, and the Defense Department does not adequately protect troops and cargo that pass through commercial ports.
In fact, military cargo, which is frequently transported by foreign-owned ships crewed by non-U.S. citizens, is often outside the control of military personnel, GAO reported in "Combating Terrorism: Actions Needed to Improve Force Protection for DoD Deployments through Domestic Seaports" (03-15).
Of particular concern to GAO was the number of times sensitive equipment fell outside military control, situations that stem from the Defense Department's heavy reliance on private and foreign firms to move military equipment. Private trucking and railroad carriers transport equipment and cargo from military installations to seaports; civilian port workers handle and load equipment onto ships; and private shipping companies with civilian crews often transport military equipment overseas. In 2001, about 43 percent of military cargo shipped overseas was carried by foreign-flagged vessels.
GAO reviewed four deployments from three domestic installations in 2001. Of the nine commercial ships used in the deployments, seven were foreign-owned. Of the two U.S.-owned ships, one had a foreign crew. The ships transported a range of equipment, including Apache and Blackhawk helicopters, Stinger anti-aircraft launchers, anti-tank missile launchers, machine guns, grenade-launchers, M-16 rifles, 9mm pistols, night-vision goggles, chemical agent monitors, global positioning system receivers and a host of other equipment of great interest to terrorists and enemies of the United States.
"Civilian port workers, stevedores, and longshoremen-who undergo limited screening and background checks by port authorities or terminal operators-handle military equipment and cargo, as well as the loading and unloading of ships used to transport the equipment overseas," GAO reported.
The Transportation Security Administration is developing plans to issue nationwide standards for credentialing port workers, but such standards are months or even years away, many officials believe.
In a cautionary tale cited by GAO, Canadian officials in the summer of 2000 discovered the inherent danger in such reliance on nonmilitary parties when the captain of a commercial vessel carrying Canadian military equipment and personnel from the Balkans refused to proceed to the ship's destination port in Canada after a payment dispute. Canadian officials intervened and a warship was dispatched before the ship was brought safely to port.
The U.S. military's reliance on the commercial sector for military shipments is not new, but it does raise serious concerns at a time of heightened security, Defense officials concede. The National Defense Transportation Association, an interest group representing the many players responsible for moving military troops and equipment in both peacetime and war, devoted its annual meeting in October to discussing security issues.
Rear Adm. David Brewer, commander of the Military Sealift Command, chaired one of the panel discussions at the meeting. The security issues facing Defense officials won't be easy to solve, he said. At one point he asked the audience, "Can you imagine the threat to our ports if we have to go to war?" The overwhelming response was "yes."