‘Beef up security at ports’

Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta on Wednesday warned that terrorists could smuggle in nuclear weapons through containers. He called for heightened security to ensure safety of sea-borne cargo.

“Today, 70% to 75% global cargo is containerised. It has been acknowledged that containers are the most likely means for a terrorist organisation to illegally transport a nuclear weapon and, hence the serious concern over container security,” Mehta said at a seminar here.

His comments came in the backdrop of the Mumbai terror attacks, exposing the security vulnerability of India’s coastline. His comments are an indication of the deep concern in the establishment about the possibility of non-state actors using containers moving in and out of India to smuggle in terrorist material, especially dirty nuclear bombs. 

The naval chief pointed out that after 9/11, the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorist (C-TPT) were put into place “considering that more than 50% of the value of all US imports arrived in containers”.

He said ports have to put in place comprehensive security to ensure that nothing illegal enters or leaves from there. “Nuclear is only one aspect of it. We have to ensure 100% security at ports by scanning them (containers) under X-ray machines. Every country has to accede to it that wherever, whichever port the container leaves from, that country certifies that this container is fully secure,” Mehta said.

India has in principle signed up for the American-led CSI, resisted by several countries, and was installing systems at Mumbai port to scan cargo leaving for the US. But there were security concerns raised by Indian intelligence agencies, and it is not clear if the entire CSI procedure has been implemented in India.