U.S. Port Security

Abstract

The maritime industry is a vital link to the transportation of billions in goods annually across the different countries globally. Use of the sea as a mode of transport has historical elements to it, as a method of transportation of goods and people from one region to the other across the globe. The mode has over time grown in its significance, having been able to sustain the worldwide economic developments as well as the economy of the United States.

 Overall, there is an agreement that an attack on any of the US ports would have a catastrophic and long-lasting impact on the US economy as well as that of its trading partners. Further issues of cargo delays, increase in vices as human and drug trafficking, cyber threats, maritime terrorism, environmental damage as well as resource wastage have become rife following the growth of the and consequent congestion experienced at the different seaports in the US. The paper presents an assessment of the issues contributing to the threats faced in the US seaports as well as the suggestion of the interventions that should be introduced to resolve the challenges posed by the congestion at the US seaports.

 Introduction

Global trade is one of the core components of the US economy that have realized increased emphasis regarding their importance. The emergence of the transpacific partnership along with the transatlantic trade and entrustments partnerships free trade agreements is an indication that the role played by the US in international trade is going to increase and become more engrained in the economy. International trade is of huge significance to the US economy as it aids in supporting jobs and promoting the creation of new ones. In the year 2010 alone, approximately one-quarter of the US jobs in manufacturing, as well as agriculture, were supported by exports (Fan, Wilson & Dahl, 2012). More significantly, the imports of intermediate goods are greatly sensitive to the costs associated with the trade, inclusive of the congestions costs that are the case with finished goods. The fact that international trade and GDP are interlinked implies that modern, efficient ports are crucial in facilitating the international trade and additionally maintain a healthy and vibrant US economy. The case, however, is different when it comes to the assessment of the congestions that has become endemic in the US ports.

The recent increase cases of cargo congestion at the US seaports has been a major contributor to the rising cases of insecurity as well as lower cargo screening at the seaports. These issues have been the core contributors to the growth of vices as human and drug trafficking, maritime terrorists, environmental damage, cargo backlog, cyber threats and wastage of resources. The global nature of the transport industry and the consequent exponential growth of international trade have increased the demand for products that are ferried by sea (Rodrigue & Notteboom, 2010).  The implication of this exponential growth in shipment demand is that there has been an increase in the quantities that are shipped via the US seaports.

The increased demand for the shipments coupled with cases of understaffing in these seaports, lack of the necessary facilities has only served to increase the challenges faced by the increased cargo congestions (Roso, Woxenius & Lumsden, 2009). The link that exists between seaports cargo congestion and insecurity makes it imperative that measures are introduced to seek the resolution of the situation. The paper is going to look at how cargo congestion in the US seaports contributes to the diverse security threats and additionally seek to assess the solutions that ought to be introduced so as to resolve the challenges.  The severe cargo congestion in most of the American seaports is not only causing delays in delivery of the goods but also resulting in major security threats to the national security. Some of the ports that are faced by the congestion challenge include the Los Angeles as well as long beach which is the busiest in the nation considering that they handle approximately a third of the nine million cargo containers that arrive in the US annually (Fan, Wilson & Dahl, 2012).

The contemporary shipping containers are the core asset that is employed in the movement of cargo abroad the commercial shipping vessels. These containers are everywhere in the society, and currently, there were over 34 million 20 feet equivalent units being used all over the globe (Roso, Woxenius & Lumsden, 2009). These intermodal containers other than enhancing the transpiration industry in a greatly have also lead to the emergence of immense security vulnerabilities. While millions of these containers are entering the US annually, the nature of the congestions that is evidenced in the contemporary times has made it very difficult to inspect them effectively. These containers pose major security challenges, because presents terrorists, drug, and human traffickers among other criminal agents to conceal their contrabands in these containers entering the United States.

The US Ports

In the year 2014, the top three US container ports accounted for approximately 50% of the nation’s containerized international trade, while the top eleven container ports, on the other hand, were accountable for more than 85% of the containers (Levine, Nozick & Jones, 2015). Approximately one-quarter regarding their value in trade of goods through the diverse US seaports via vessels has been established as to flow through the main two container ports on the West coast. While the concentration may assist America in focusing its resources on the expansion of the capacity of the majority of kits most instrumental container ports, there are the additional issues of disruption and as delays experienced in the industry in the past.

Improved ocean shipping is a major factor that contributes to an increase in the efficiency of international supply chains. The assertion follows that while the shipping systems become more efficient, the consequent shipping costs relative to the value of the finished goods consequently fall. Further, increase the efficiency of the supply chain will not only increase the volume of trade through the lowering of importation and exportation but additionally increases the distances that these goods can be sourced and sold (Fan, Wilson & Dahl, 2012). In most cases, the elimination of the congestion that is evident in the American ports is the most critical attributes as it contributes to numerous evils that are difficult to resolve completely. Recently, members of the world trade organization acknowledged the vital linkages that exist between trade facilitation, economic competitiveness, and global supply chains as they agreed to the new multilateral trade agreements. Transport costs have become a major factor in international trade than is the case on the tariffs imposed by the developed countries on the nonagricultural goods (Fan, Wilson & Dahl, 2012). The lack of effectiveness in the supply chains, logistics as well as trade facilitation in the US has been termed to as being equivalent to additional tariffs that are imposed on both imported and exported goods. The US exhibits ample opportunities for the improvement of its supply chain efficiency.

Upholding the effectiveness as well as the efficiency of America’s global supply chains is of critical importance to the country’s continued economic volatility. The challenge, however, follows that the congestion that is evidenced in the ports, as well as other ports of the nation's intermodal system, has become a major risk factor for the relatively sturdy growth of the American economy as well as the competitive position in the world economy (Frittelli, 2008). The assertion there is that addressing the congestions that are evident in American ports is not only critical for most of the individual gateways but also encompasses the fact that it is of paramount significance to the nation.

Congestion at the Ports

There is a justifiable frustration due to port congestion mostly n the US west coasts that prevail in all the segment of the transportation community. Importers, exporters, marine terminal operators, ocean carriers, truckers as well as well as railroads all have experienced extra costs while equipment fails to move efficiently through the terminals when congestion prevails in the ports (Bichou, 2011). Issues of unexpected cargo volume surges have occasionally occurred in New York and New Jersey leading to the shippers and carriers being diverted from west coast ports that having labor challenges to the east coast ports.

Issues That Lead To Variances in Port Congestion from One Terminal to Another

Inconsistent productivities of the marine terminal have been one of the factors that lead to the differing congestions in the different ports with the issue being that there have been cases of poor and inconsistent productivity levels in the US ports and terminals for years. Issues of the efficiency of the vessel operator’s storage planning, as well as the reliability of the vessel operators' schedule, impact the congestion experienced in the ports (Fan, Wilson & Dahl, 2012). The ability of the terminal to avoid berth congestion, the inefficiency of the transportation infrastructure that connects the marine terminal to the railway and roadways, shortages of equipment and hours of operation in the marine terminal further impact the congestions characterizing a port (Wan, Zhang & Yuen, 2013).  Further issues include the lack of on-dock capacity in certain marine terminals, the amount of land a port facility owns for the storage of containers as well as conducts operations, hours that the warehouse and distribution centers are open to receive the containers also have an impact.

Causes of Seaport Congestion in the United States of America

In the assessment of the issue of congestions in the American seaports, the assertion is that they all depict the same story. From the ports at long beach, Los Angeles, Virginia, Oakland, New Jersey and New York, they all indicate that they suffer from gridlock that has led to delays and the stacking of untold costs that impact every level of the supply chain (Steven & Corsi, 2012). These issues that are leading to the congestion of these seaports are varied as well as complicated, but some of the fundamental causes of the congestions include:

Shortage of chassis, which has been difficult issues that can only seem to be getting worse stands as one of the core causes of the congestion being witnessed at the American seaports.  Most of the ocean carriers have pulled out of the chassis business while others are making announcements that they are going to exit shortly (Fan, Wilson & Dahl, 2012). The majority of existing chassis has been sidelined due to the associated maintenance issues, and with the demand for the chassis going high, there is the indication that the costs for the rentals are going to be higher.

The inclement weather as a cause follows the assertion that shipping will always be at the mercy of the bad weather and the underlying fact is that everyone tries their best to buckle down and push through it. There, however, those cases whereby there is the weather that makes it impossible to work, as is the case with the east coast during the past few years (Papa, 2013). The period has been characterized by rough weather patterns that have battered different parts of the eastern seaboard, leading to massive delays from Savannah to New York (Steven & Corsi, 2012). The weather that has been contributing to the congestion has been characterized by prolonged storms that have a direct impact on the shipping as well as the lingering effect of the traffic delays from the snowstorm in Georgia that caused the truckers to lose an entire day’s work.

Industrial action has additionally been a factor contributing to the congestion at the ports; with the common issues regarding the new initiatives relating to maintenance of trucks as well as the port strikes due to work rule changes have negatively impacted the case (Fan, Wilson & Dahl, 2012). The additional issue of labor shortage has increased the congestion at the ports, with the shortage of truckers being considered as a major issue. While the attempts to resolve the issue have been unsuccessful, stakeholders have been blaming the generational gap as the core contributor to the challenge (Fan, Wilson & Dahl, 2012). Others contend that trucking owing to the wages and the general treatment has stopped from being viewed as a career but a job, leading to a decrease in the number of long-term workers. Irrespective of the reason contributing to the shortage, the prevailing issue is the fact that there still is a huge case of drivers’ shortage that adversely affects the supply chain.

Increase in demand additionally contribute to the congestion being witnessed with the assertion bring that any increase in demand at an already busy port is deemed to be a challenge.  The increase in product demand globally and the fact that they pass through the ports leads to a reduction in the efficacy of the ports especially in due to the issues of staff shortage in these ports (Steven & Corsi, 2012).

Port Congestion and Low Cargo Screening

The US government and the shipping industry experts have been struggling with ways that they can strengthen the security at the ports about cargo screening without paralyzing the business that is central to global trade. Issues relating to the security at the ports and the consequent cargo security have emerged as the biggest topics in the shipping industry (Papa, 2013). Governments around the world have pledged to address the challenges, while the Congress and the lawmakers have been calling for the toughening of the cargo inspections strategies. The cargo industry has been resistant to the idea of screening all cargo, with the argument being that the step is not practical as most of the seaports do not have the space to screen all the containers shipped daily (Papa, 2013). Further, they assert that some goods, such as the perishable products and medical suppliers cannot survive the long wait at the seaports as they await the screening.

Port Congestions and Drug Trafficking

The challenges that have been presented by this lack of adequate screening, as well as poor cases of security at the seaports, make it imperative to reevaluate the reservations put across by the industry stakeholders. One of these issues that have to be addressed is the issue of drug trafficking into the US which is has facilitated by the congestions in the sea ports leading to poor security measures and screening (Papa, 2013). The fact is that congestion of the seaports coupled by inadequate and poorly trained staff has lead to the proliferations of drugs concealed in containers into the US, exacerbating the drug menace. Overall, the assertion is that big money comes with the big business. Drug trafficking is a huge business that is characterized by significant international complexities. The containerized sea transport is believed to be a simple, convenient as well as cost-effective means of transport for the drug traffickers (Surtees, 2012). The US is currently and seriously impacted by the challenge posed by illicit drug traffic by ship in addition to the smuggling of the alcohol and cigarettes. These criminals have realized the congestion challenges faced by the American port and consequently exploit these challenges as they are aware of the fact that there is a low likelihood of their products being detected when concealed among the genuine products.  In the assessment of the South American cocaine-smuggling by sea, reports indicate that there have been more than 95,000 seizures of cocaine since 2007, leading to the interception of more than 80 tons of cocaine (Surtees, 2012).

Cigarette, Alcohol and Tobacco Smuggling

In the case of alcohol, cigarette and tobacco smuggling, China has been established as the core source of most of these products that gain entry into the US via the congested seaports. Studies indicate that the American enforcement agencies have seized around one billion cigarettes in the past two years. The cost to the American taxpayer due to the illicit tobacco trade has been estimated to be approximately $10 billion annually (Logan, Walker & Hunt, 2011).There is little information on the costs as well as the scale of the issue of alcohol smuggling in the US, with some of the available sourcing indicating that more than $600 million has been lost via the nonpayment of excise duty on the alcoholic products (Shieh, et al., 2012). On the issue of both alcohol as well as tobacco fraud, it follows that some of these products will have been shipped to other American states. The congestion and the consequent poor security and inspection have a direct impact in the facilitation of the smuggling as the likelihood of these products being detected low, which evidently leads to loss of tax that can fund most of the government projects and improve the ports also (Logan, Walker & Hunt, 2011). Increasing security and customs screening at the ports will, therefore, be key to the minimization of the impact that smuggling has in the US especially for the loss of revenue for the members’ states.

Terrorism

Studies further indicate that maritime terrorism has emerged as a major threat in the world, which has been targeting both the naval as well as civilian vessels. The threat has been compounded by the use maritime vessels along with the shipping lanes by criminals who are in partnership with the terrorists. These issues underline the significance of enhancing port security and screening in the American seaports that have been compromised by the congestion that makes these efforts fail in their effectiveness (Chalk, 2010).

After the 9/11 security measures were enhanced globally in both the airports and seaports across the globe (Shieh, et al., 2012). However, with the emergent issues of cargo congestion and poor security and screening interventions, the threat has become an issue that policy makers and other stakeholders have raised concern. Illegal immigration and drug smuggling are the current pertinent issues that the US is currently dealing with as they are increasingly entering through the diverse ports owing to the poor screen and security interventions.

Some of the major concerns revolve around the fact that these ships can be used as bombs, with one of the issues that have become a major concern encompasses the transportation by sea of dangerous substances as weapons of mass destruction or explosives in containers that are offloaded in the ports and transported by road or rail across the US. The additional threat that has been a major concern in the US since the 9/11 attacks encompass the potential use of ships as bombs (Sullivan & Shah, 2010). Some of the vessels that have been highlighted to exhibit the greatest potential to cause the greatest damage to the port and the surrounding include the chemical, oil, liquid petroleum, liquid natural gas tankers as well as the nuclear waste transport vessels (Yeo, Pak & Yang, 2013). Through the adequate security and inspection, it is possible for the operators of the oil ports to ensure that such products are not concealed in unlabelled vessels and used as weapons by a terrorist.

The congestion, however, compromises the effectiveness of the security measures to address such threats, implying that there is a likelihood that such a vessel could get to the road or railway and used as a weapon by the terrorists (Levine, Nozick & Jones, 2015). The use of container ships that carry radiological or nuclear materials is considered as the greatest threat in case they are detonated at the port or in road transit. The assertion is supported by the fact that al Qaeda owned and controlled 15 cargo ships that can be used as a floating bomb, smuggling radioactive or biological weapons and even its members through the poorly protected and screened US ports (Fan, Wilson & Dahl, 2012).

Weapons Trafficking

The trafficking of both illicit small arms as well as light weapons has been a major issue compromising the internal as well as the external security of the US. There exists a small but steady market for weapons sold to individuals and criminals who cannot access the weapon legally in the US through the concealment in shipping containers (Bichou, 2011). Studies reveal that the organized crime groups in the US have been using the different ships entering the US seaports to transport weapons as anti-aircraft and anti-tank rocket launchers in addition to heavy firearms into and out of the country.

The assessment of the issue of a weapon and drug trafficking follows the assertion that most of the reported cases of illicit transfers of drugs, arms as well as equipment that could be used in the creation of missiles and weapons of mass destruction are owned by companies that are found in the world’s richest countries. These ships are the commercial lines that are based in Greece, Germany, and the US. In most cases, the ship owners and the captains are not aware of the content they are carrying as it is relatively easy for the traffickers to hide the drugs and arms among the legitimate cargo (Chalk, 2010). Studies indicate that the drug traffickers pioneered the strategies employed by the arms dealers in their trafficking networks. These strategies have included the concealments of goods in sealed containers that claim to be carrying legitimate items. There additionally is the sending of goods on foreign-owned ships that engage in legitimate trade as well as the use of circuitous routes in making the shipments more difficult for the surveillance operations to track.

While containerization has revolutionized international trade, it has provided an excellent cover for the traffickers. The case is supported by the fact that while numerous containers pass through the US seaports in a year, it is only a few of these that are adequately inspected (Chalk, 2010). The owners of these ships, as well as the customs and clearing agents in these seaports, take it on trust that the content in these containers is a reflection of what has been stated n the cargo documents.

At the Port of Miami whereby customer inspectors have traditionally managed to seize more drugs concealed in the cargo containers than any other port in the country, the officials have asserted that part of the challenge has been the lax in security checks. The issue compounded with the congestion at the ports makes the area seem lucrative to the criminals as they know there is a low likelihood of their contrabands being detected (Urciuoli, 2010). An additional issue that has increased the challenge is the assertion that there is a lack of background check of most of the employees at the port, which has occasionally resulted in collusion between the staff and traffickers to have the contraband pass through the ports undetected.

Human Trafficking

The issue of human trafficking is different from illegal immigration since money is made via the exploitation of people once they are brought into the US rather than the fees paid to the smuggler. There has been an increase in the case of human trafficking in the US, with the women working as prostitutes to pay the trafficker’s fee. Most of the human smuggling cases to the US employ hard top shipping containers that offer its occupants with no chance of escape should anything go wrong (Levine, Nozick & Jones, 2015). Smugglers having realized the challenges posed to the American seaports have been using these containers to smuggle people into the US via these containers that are labeled as containing useful commodities.

Economic Impact of the Congestions

The subject of congestion at the American seaports implies that one of the transport users; in this case, the ship tends to impede another. The implication is that there is a cost that is imposed on the third part. The greater the traffic at the ports, the higher the cost imposed on the users (Steven & Corsi, 2012). The cost that is associated with the congestions that have become synonymous with the American seaports is assessed regarding the additional fuel consumed, time lost, the greater inconvenience as well as the likely accidents. The main issue addressed in the case of port congestion relates to the time lost, with the transport users imposing additional costs on the others (Jula & Leachman, 2011). The assertion there follows that it is imperative to compute accurately the manner in which the time lost is imposed on the third parties. The time that is lost is imposed on the other users in two ways; the first is due to the diminishing traffic flows as well as via the generation of the queue.

In assessing the economic impact of the congestions that is the characterized in the American seaport, the assertion is that it imposes a significant economic impact. The issue is that the congestion menace has been on the increase and that it is not just on the coast. In this case, studies reveal that of the ten busiest seaports in the nation regarding the volume they handle, estimates indicate that at least seven of them face congestion on a regular basis (Jula & Leachman, 2011). The issues that are believed to responsible for these congestion cases are varied as well as complex which the most common ones being cargo surges from the huge ships, labor disruptions, infrastructure challenges, shortage of equipment, understaffing, terminal productivity among others.

The implication of these issues is the typical chronic gridlock that is evident in most of the American seaports. The ships in these ports are stranded for days and even weeks as they wait to unload, with containers in these ports being stacked in clogged terminal yards. Occasionally, trucks wait in line for more than eight hours as they come to pick just a single container from these ports, with customers throughout the country experiencing shipment delays that last weeks (Jula & Leachman, 2011). These congestions and bottlenecks reverberate throughout the entire supply chain, turning into a significant trade barrier both the exports and imports with a corresponding adverse impact on the economy.

The costs associated with this dysfunction at the ports is huge, with exporters suffering the most as they keep on losing their customers overseas. Perishable goods, on the other hand, keep on spoiling, while manufacturers are compelled to slow and in other cases stop their production lines since the just in time inventory impossible to manage (Iannone, 2012). The retail products, on the other hand, are either delayed or end up missing the most important selling seasons as they get to the market late (Dixon, Scura, Carpenter & Sherman, 2013). Other than the broader assessment, it is evident that port congestions add to the direct costs of the supply chain as the exorbitant demurrage costs coupled with the increased inventory costs. Due to the chronic delays as well as uncertain deliveries, it has become imperative for the majority of US companies to increase their inventory levels. The best example of this encompasses the fact that Nike is compelled to spend $200 million annually in carrying an extra 7-14 days inventory owing to the unreliable transportations that come from the congestion at the ports (Steven & Corsi, 2012).

Congestions in the American Ports and the Increased Cybersecurity Risk

The main issue in the assessment of this subject is the fact that maritime connectedness is a major assess for the US economic as well as strategic interests. Issues related to the ports as well as vessel network systems have been on the increase following the growing congestion concern in most of the ports. The vulnerability, in this case, has been long overshadowed by the concern relating kinetic attacks as well as the security of the supply chain. The marine stakeholders are at a heightened risk of cyber intrusion considering that cyber attacks are assessing for any and all means possible for attacking maritime networks. It has thus become imperative that the US department of homeland and the maritime stakeholders adopt strategies to keep them ahead of the risks posed by cyber criminals to ensure that the keep is kept at the maximum and additionally avoiding the creation of regulations that could slow trade thus hindering business.

Addressing the Challenge of Congestion at the American Seaports

There are no fast fix solutions to the congestion challenge that is in most of the American seaports. In the current situation, there are several ports that are working with terminal operators as well as shippers in the development of innovative solutions that are going to ease the issue of congestion. Some of these ideas used to address the challenge include the adoption of the cyber style technology platform used in Los Angeles to assist in the facilitation of truck transactions (Levine, Nozick & Jones, 2015). It is however evident that while these technologies are helpful, they cannot adequately resolve the multifaceted nature of the issues contributing to the congestion. It is thus imperative that the Congress intervenes and plays its role as failure to address the congestion issue will have significant adverse impact on the economy.

The first intervention by the Congress should address the issue port metrics which is informed by the fact that it is possible to establish the period when the ports are gridlocked. The most obvious evidence is on those occasions that the trucks are backed up for miles at the terminals while ships are anchored at sea unable to unload. The appalling thing is the fact that there is not hard data that can be used in supporting the issue of port congestion and efficiency (Sullivan & Shah, 2010). Through the port transparency act that was introduced by Senator John Thune, it will be possible to address this challenge. The act offers the tools that are needed in assessing the performance metrics uniformly over a period at the diverse ports in America. The performance data will be critical in allowing the necessary smooth flow of commerce, thus making it imperative that the Congress passes the legislation.

The issue of labor disruptions that have been a major cause of the congestion evident in the ports especially in the case of the west coast in the past, highlighting the fact that labor disputes in a major port have the ability to bring commerce to a halt. These labor disruptions have had a significant impact on the economic wellbeing of the nation as a whole. One of the bills that seek to address this situation is the protecting orderly as well as responsible shipments transit act by Senator Cory Gardner. The act is meant to address the challenges posed by labor disruptions y discouraging these disruptions and additionally incentivizing quick resolution when disputes arise (Logan, Walker & Hunt, 2011). The act specifically permits the use of the Taft-Hartley in ending work slowdowns at the ports, empowering state governors to seek a federal injunction against strikes, slowdowns as well as lockouts. The preventing labor unions slowdown acts by Senator James Risch makes the deliberate work slowdowns by the maritime unions an unfair act under the federal law. The act exposes the unions that decide to engage in the slowdowns to monetary damage claims from both the employers as well as the injured parties who include the exporters and importers.

There is the additional issue of demurrage which is the charge for the use of space, whereby fees are applied after the end of the specified period of free time. The original intention of demurrage was to encourage faster cargo movement with the objective of ensuring that the terminals are not used for storage by the shippers. The current situation in the American ports, however, offers the indication that the concept has been turned on its head. Naturally, the case in a congested port involves the situation whereby a shipper is ready and willing to pick their cargo but is turned away from the terminal since their container is buried too deep in a stack that it becomes impossible to retrieve on in the other cases whereby there are shortages at the terminal. It is, however, follows that the terminal operator charges a per diem penalty for demurrage for every day that the container is at the terminal even though the shipper has been prevented from removing his container (Yeo, Pak & Yang, 2013). Once the demurrage has been assessed, the shipper is compelled to pat as the charges are due upfront on the day they pick up their shipments. In the assessment of the case, it is evident demurrage costs have a huge adverse impact on the movement of cargo at the American ports about the exorbitant costs that the shippers have to access their cargo at the ports (Logan, Walker & Hunt, 2011). The assertion is that demurrage has become an impediment to the fast movement of cargo at the ports since it has become a convenient revenue stream for the gridlocked American seaports. It is imperative that the Congress presses the maritime commission into taking expedient actions meant to address the case and consequently resolve the growing congestion challenge that is part to be blamed on demurrage.

Congestion and the Imposed Cyber Security Threat on the American Ports

The contemporary business world has seen the costs of cybersecurity threats increase, with the assertion, in this case, being that any attack on the American seaports would have catastrophic effects on the nations for a while. The economic effects of cyber attack resulting in port closures and delay would be severe, considering that the failure of one port impacts all the other connecting regional ports adversely. In the year 2002, the all-day closure of 29 ports located in west coast leads to losses estimated to be $11 billion (Leathrum Jr, Mathew & Mastaglio, 2011).  The Northeast ports reported having lost an estimated $50 billion, with $1 billion being due to cargo delays alone in 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy (Leathrum Jr, Mathew & Mastaglio, 2011). The labor disputes that emerged in 2014 in the American ports have contributed to the congestion whose effects are still being felt in Asia due to the undelivered goods.

As the ports, as well as vessels network systems, are adopting new technologies, stakeholders, on the other hand, are moving away from the traditional standalone platforms as well as marine industrial control systems as they are getting more integrated. The adoption of the new systems is meant to assist in the streamlining of the production and additionally increase the flow of trade, the consequent number of vulnerabilities in the network systems are also on the increase. The cyber security actors continue to assess the ways that they can access the network systems via the traditional landline connections, new and preexisting Wi-Fi ports as well as the USB introduced threats as the installation of malware and extraction of information. The vulnerabilities that exist n the smaller systems can be exploited in gaining access to the larger network.

The Interventions to Be Used In Addressing the Situation

In the attempts to resolve the cyber security threat that is posed by the congestion and the ports and the consequent attacks, it is imperative that the Senate redressed the legislation on the issues that encompass increase the cyber security information sharing. The department of homeland security and the US computer emergency readiness team should be on the forefront of sharing information on cybersecurity. In this information sharing, it is imperative that the stakeholders agree on threat defining a language (Park & Dragović, 2010).  Emphasis should be on the port stakeholders across the diverse federal departments, agencies, as well as private businesses, increasing their cyber information sharing as well as the ease with which this information is shared.

Increasing cyber security sharing should include working with the international partners since cyber attackers could penetrate the US networks by an assortment of mechanisms. In the case of the domestic arena, it is imperative that the agencies address the issue of continuity as well as simplicity in the identification of cyber threats involving the definition and severity of threats to the ports, attacks, and solutions while avoiding the creation of a catch-all regulation that hinders business (Dixon, Scura, Carpenter & Sherman, 2013).

In the case of the administration, it is imperative that there is the emphasis on the handling of cyber security for the port security at the new cyber threat intelligence integration center. The agency has been modeled after the national counterterrorism center, plays its role via aggregating the cyber security information across the government (Dixon, Scura, Carpenter & Sherman, 2013). Overall, cyber attacks can occur in second, the main issue that makes the simplification of the reporting of cyber threats is very significant involving such issues as the agency that the threat is reported as well as the information that is going to be shared interdepartmental (Hong & Ng, 2010). The continued growth, as well as congestion of ports in America, poses unique cyber security threats to these ports and the nation’s economy. The evident congestions provide a unique environment for the cyber criminals to plan and carry out their attacks at ease. Further, the congestion has made it easy for the criminals and drug traffickers to hire services of hackers in ensuring that their contrabands pass through the diverse remote checks in the congested ports without detection.

Seaport Congestion and Damage to the Environment

Over the past three decades, growth in globalization processes led to the advancements in the technologies used in the maritime industry. These advancements have mainly contributed to the breakthroughs that have increased the ease of containerization along with the other significant changes in the cargo handling facilities. However, the prevailing congestion at the American seaports has additionally brought unique issues relating to the adverse impacts to the environment.  In the course of cargo handling in these congested ports, it has become evident that there are huge discharges and emissions that occur. The handling of dry bulk cargo as coal, grains, china clay, iron ore cause the production of dust that escapes into the atmosphere (Dalsøren, Eide, Endresen, Mjelde, & Isaksen, 2009). Further, the handling of liquid bulk further results in the discharge via pipelines which are occasioned by leaks, spillages, and emissions. The releases of the cargo into the marine environment exert a huge direct impact on the environment as is the case with the loss of toxic substances. There are the additional indirect effects that are occasioned by the loss of nontoxic organic-rich substances that end up depleting oxygen on their breakdown.

There additionally are numerous amounts of dry bulk cargo that is shipped in the US and the generation of dust from the physical handling of the cargo while harmless to the marine environments raises concern due to its visibility nature. Some of these dry bulk cargo shipped through the American ports have high concentrations of organic material and nutrients as fertilizers and animal feed. These compounds have high biological energy demands with cases of high spillages of the substances resulting in localized nutrient enrichments a well as oxygen depletion (Erftemeijer, Riegl, Hoeksema, & Todd, 2012). The implication of this trend is in the suffocation of the marine line the vicinity of these American seaports.

In most of these seaports ports, there is the transportation of harmful substances like pesticides, oil, liquefied gas, industrial chemicals as well as fertilizers whereby any incidences of accidents could result in their release and the consequent adverse impact n the marine environments. These environmental hazards that include the harmful substances encompass the damage to the living resources as toxicity, hazard t to the human health, bioaccumulation as well as the consequent reduction of amenities (Erftemeijer, Riegl, Hoeksema, & Todd, 2012). The severity of the pollution encompassing the marine environment, soil, air as well as groundwater is dependent on the nature of the substances as well as the amount of concentration that has been released into the port environment (Park & Dragović, 2010). The case with the Americans seaports is that while the discharges, as well as emission of the fumes and dust cold, occur from the congested vessels in the ports in the forms of fumes, dust and oil spills. The assertion follows that the greater the duration these vessels stay in the ports, the greater the levels of pollution that are experienced.

On noise pollution in the American ports, it is commonly associated with cargo handling, which in this case is believed to exhibit the potential of disturbing animals and birds that inhabit the marine SACs.

About the marine water, it has become apparent that the pollution caused by the ships that have congested the American ports has adverse impacts on the water and organisms found in this water. The operations that occur in the ports can have major impacts on the quality of water as well as the health of marine life. The waste that has increased from the ships congesting these ports coupled with the other port activities can cause loss and degradations of the habitat areas as well as the marine (Park & Dragović, 2010). The common impacts the port operations have to include the emission of wastewater whereby these ships periodically release wastewater, sewage as well as bilge water which refers to the wastewater that is often contaminated with oil.

The issue of the ship paint that tends to increase as more ships stay in the ports leach the toxic paint additives that are meant to prevent barnacles from clinging to the ships which have adverse health impacts on the marine life. Runoffs from storm water, on the other hand, tend to gather the pollutants that are in the paved surfaces on these ports and consequently deposit them in water, bypassing the waste water treatment measures that would have removed the pollutants. There is the additional issue of the nitrogen that is emitted by the docked vessels and regarded as the leading cause of eutrophication in the marine systems whereby algae blooms, using up the oxygen in the water and consequently cause fish and shellfish to die (Park & Dragović, 2010). There are the cases of oil spills that include the chronic pollution from the bilge water, runoffs as well as the loading and unloading the oil tankers in addition to the case of the larger oil spills resulting from overfilling tanker ships and tears in the ship’s hull.

The oil spills lead to the cases whereby the oil covers the water, preventing entry of oxygen and consequently killing the marine organisms in the areas surrounding the ports. The environmental pollution that has been evidenced in the American ports is additionally occasioned by the issue of dredging whereby the removal of sediments to deepen the ship channels to accommodate their increasing number (Dixon, Scura, Carpenter & Sherman, 2013). Dredging increases the cloudiness of the water, disturbs contaminated bottom sediments, harms and permanently destroys the critical wildlife habitats and additionally disturbs and kills the threatened, and endangered species that reside in the sea surfaces Erftemeijer, Riegl, Hoeksema, & Todd, 2012). Further environmental damage is evidenced by the fact that marine water can be taken into the ships via ballast water that is used in assisting in maintaining ship balance and consequently transported across the world to the new habitats whereby they become invasive species threatening balance of the natural ecosystems.

Addressing the U.S. Port Security

The massive flow of ships and containers around the globe has become a major backbone of the world economy. While the global shipping industry has become an integral component of the infrastructure allowing for major economic progress, it has become a major vulnerability to the security of the nations that are integral in handling most of these containers. The situation has become an issue with the American seaports as the prevailing situation is that it is only less than 2% of the containers that pass through the American ports that are effectively checked (Rodrigue & Notteboom, 2010). These containers have become the main mode used by the criminals in executing their crimes as smuggling of people, drugs, and arms among other elements. Further, the additional congestion at the ports has become a major enabler to these vices as criminals are finding it easy to transport their contraband since they know there is the only a little likelihood that they are going to be noticed (Leathrum Jr, Mathew & Mastaglio, 2011).  It is these issues that have made it imperative to address the issue of security in these ports and resolve the challenge. Criminals have devised ways of using the containers to transport all types of banned goods, people, and even weapons.

In the recent years, official records indicate that American seaports have been rife with the transportation of illegal goods as well as people, making it a major point of concern, especially about the increasing terrorism. The assertion is that terrorists could, for instance, use these containers in transporting dangerous material as weapons and since the congestion experienced has made it difficult to carry out thorough screening; the materials will successfully reach the destinations in America (Bichou, 2011). Before the 9/11 attack port security involved the assessment of general criminal activity as well as physical security and access control, crew security, passenger as well as military mobilization security.

The core issues that are needed to be adopted so as to promote the security at the American ports include both low as well as high range vessel detection and monitoring technologies. There need to be initiatives as well as agreements meant to improve and advance notices of vessel arrival, movement information, the supply chain security strategies as well as manifest and entry cargo information. There needs to be the use of international arrangements that are going to promote the visibility into the maritime supply chain, adoption of sensor technologies, intelligence as well as information processing tools for the monitoring of the cargo information (Hong & Ng, 2010). The US needs to ensure that there has been the creation of international coalitions as a mode of promoting the sharing of maritime situation awareness on a regular basis as well as ensuring that there is the enhancement of the global maritime intelligence and coordination. It is imperative that there is the promotion of sharing of the situational awareness so as to disseminate information to the stakeholders in the different levels. Automation tools that will promote the effectiveness of data fusion, analysis as well as management are additionally integral in improving the tracking as well as detection of the aberrant activity patterns (Wan, Zhang & Yuen, 2013). It is critical that there is the implementation of information processing strategies as they will promote the threat detection capabilities. These strategies and interventions once fully implemented are going to increase the security parameters in the American seaports and consequently promote the effectiveness with which criminal activities are detected and averted.

Cargo Backlog

The issue of cargo backlog at the American ports is one of the issues that have been greatly contributed by the growing congestion in these ports. The backlog has been one of those factors that have been a major to both the American economy as well as anyone else using the ports. Overall, the core objective of these ports is in ensuring that they bring in vessels, load and unload the cargo and passengers and ensuring that they get the vessels and containers out of the port fast as possible. Sadly, the objective has not been realized as issues of backlog have complicated the overall operations and effectiveness of these ports. It is this issue that has made it imperative that these seaports have to devise strategies and additionally evolve their infrastructure to ensure that it can accommodate the growing cargo volumes and oversized types of cargo (Fan, Wilson & Dahl, 2012). In this case, the creation of collaborative relationships is integral with the municipality they operate to meet their obligations as an economic as well as community steward and finding common ground with the local interest groups is of paramount importance.

Further deepening as well as widening the seaports navigation channels is the additional solution that can be used in meeting the growing and congestion challenges being experienced. The expansion of these ports needs to be coupled with the increase in manpower in these ports as a means of fueling the cargo handling processes as well as ensure that there are well-timed efforts meant to transport the cargo away from the port thus dealing with the challenge that is posed by congestion and backlog (Wan, Zhang & Yuen, 2013). The assertion is supported by the fact that any break in the efficiency chain implies that there will be delays in the ushering of the next vessel, with the overall inefficiency compounding from that point.

Conclusion

It is evident that the growth in international trade has increased the number of shipments being received at any point in American seaports. The evident implication of this situation is the fact that there has been the growth in the issue of congestion as well as low-security interventions at the ports on the issue of screening the incoming containers. The congestion being experienced in most of the American seaports has not only adversely affected the US economy considering that the ports have been a major economic driver in the GDP but has additionally increased the insecurity in the nation. The fact has been that the congestion in the containers passing through the American ports has to lead to a decline in the security and cargo screening measures at the port. The implication has been that the criminal groups have found it easy to conceal contraband in these containers and consequently promoting such vices as human and drug trafficking, increasing the threat of cyber-attacks, maritime terrorism as well as weaponry concealment. It has further become evident that the congestion at the port has increased the rate of environmental damage due to the diverse pollutants coming from the docked ships. These are some of the issues that make it imperative to adopt some of the suggested measures in the paper, to address the threats and risks posed by the continued congestion in American seaports.

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