Impacts Of Port Security On Supply Chain

Impact of Port Security on Supply Chain

Discuss about the Impacts of Port Security on Supply Chain

According to statistics is clear that the world’s ports play a critical role in the movements of goods and services around the globe. In the United States of America, billions of dollars are carried out and into the country through the ports. Globally 80 percent of the trade by volume and about 70% trade by value are handled by the ports and carried via the see. More than 12 million containers are carried by ships per month according to Henry H. Willis of Rand Corp who was giving a testimony before the homeland security and Government affairs in US Senate. He said that around 500 billion dollars in the importation of containers and 200 billion dollars in the exportation of containers are transacted through the American ports. From the statistic above there is a clear reason why there is need to protect at the ports of united states. It is clear that the supply of goods and services from different countries to us and vise versa happens along the coast. The following paper looks deep into what the impact of p[ort security in the supply chain and specifically the period after 9/11 attack where the homeland security department was formed. It also discusses the impact advance technology has brought to the efficiency of the port security. Generally, the paper looks at how port security has contributed to making supply chains around the globe successful and in the United States of America to be specific(Helmick, 2008).

To start with port security has brought a lot of impact on the supply chain since the attack of 9/11. Maintaining security along the coast has provided a safe trading environment along the coast. This has been possible because many traders from different parts of the globe are now confident that any transactions made via the American poor are safe (Helmick, 2008).  These have increased the supply chain performance thus growth in the economy of the country. Port security has also increased the efficiency of the supply chain. These have enabled easier and of movement of goods and services from one place to the]other around the globe. However, the maintaining port security is very expensive and needs a lot of infrastructures. This has to lead to a short time negative impact on the economy (Dowell, & McClellan,2017).

The economy of the United States of America highly depends on the efficiency and safety of the trade e that happens around the ports. That’s shipping well in and out of the country to the other parts of the globe through vessels such as ships. Therefore, many technological advances have been made to increase the port security so as to enhance safe shipping of commodities. One of the technological advances that have been made since the attack of 9/11 is the introduction of containers in shipping activities. Ships called containers ships are designed to carry manufactured goods and used products in containers of standard sizes (Dowell, & McClellan,2017). This has improved the security of the good by ensuring that the goods in the containers cannot be tampered with easily. Also, in addition, there has been the establishment of a safer way of transporting rigidified gases using tankers. In addition, the country has invested a lot in developing interoperable communication technology, which aids in port security. Also, different devices such as vessel trackers and threat detection machines have been improvised. The machines are able to detect threat underwater and monitor the vessels ensuring that vessels do not interfere during shipping activities. This technology has contributed to ensuring safe and efficient supply chain (Frittelli, 2008).

Technological Advances and Their Contribution to Port Security

Container initiative has contributed a lot to the efficiency of supply chain and port security. It has increased goods security, which enables the goods to reach their destination safely and without being interfered. In addition, the work of loading and offloading the good from the ships have been reduced. Parking goods in one container ensure an easier way of loading them to the ship or any other mode of transport and offloading them. This has saved a lot of time because delays caused by long offloading processes have been eliminated (Frittelli, 2008).  In addition, the trade does not face setbacks since there are no delays in shipping the containers. The container initiatives is also a very economical method and have reduced the cost of shipping goods around the globe. This is because very few people unlike when there were no containers handle the containers and very many attendants were used during the shipping process  It also economizes on the space in the shipping medium example an airplane whereby the containers can be arranged in a good order avoiding wastage of a lot of space. Monitoring of cargo has also been made easier. By use of a container, one need to only monitor the container and not the specific goods and services in the container. Containers initiative is, therefore, a bilateral system because it helps in shipping goods and also the movement of goods in the country. Therefore, a country that signs for this initiative takes a major role in enhancing global security and supply chain efficiency (Hönke, & Cuesta-Fernandez, 2018).

Containers have a lot of benefit in supply chain and contribute a lot to making shipping of goods easy and efficiently (Kwak, Seo, & Mason, 2018). However, terrorist in threatening the public security can use the same containers. That is why the container security initiative was very necessary after the 9/11 attack in the United States of America. This is initiative addresses the threat to global trade and border security, which is posed by the potential for terrorists to ship weapons using, the containers. The container security initiative focuses on ensuring that all containers are inspected at the country where they are being exported from before they are loaded into the transportation vessel (Kwak, Seo, & Mason, 2018).  Their mission is to develop an investigation lead on how containers, which post a lot of threat to the American citizens, can be identified so as to maintain port security and ensure smooth supply chain. The objectives of the container security initiative based on three core elements; identification of higher risk containers, prescreening and evaluating containers before they are shipped into the country and use technology to do the investigation and screening without interfering with supply chain movement.

Container Initiative and Its Benefits to Supply Chain

Security managers in the united states of America have played an important role in increasing security and coordination. The department of homeland security initiative which was created due to the 9/11 attack has contributed a lot to the port security through it, leadership and organization (John, et al 2018). The department has set a section of port security where it has an army, which protects the ports of the country. This army has a role to detect any terrorist target and terrorist weapons. The homeland security department has also taken a keen interest in safeguarding the borders of America. This extended border concept has contributed a lot in port security and supply chain in the country. The departments of homeland security in relation with the custom and border protection (CBP) have a primary role to play in facilitating and regulating the flow of goods and services through the United States ports (John, et al 2018). They are stated with the responsibility to ensure no illegal intrusion into the country through the borders of the country. They also prevent entry of illegal goods including drugs in the country.

The global partners’ nation has also contributed to the efficiency of the port security through different programs. For an instant the program of uniting all the countries to one goal of maintaining a safe supply chain and port security. It has also contributed a lot in programs of educating and training people on the importance of port security and thus enhancing supply chain movement.

In conclusion, we have seen that the economy of many countries around the globe depends highly on what goes through the ports. Statistics have proven that a lot of trading activities happens through the ports of America where billions of dollars go through the port each month. Port security is, therefore, a key factor in the united states of American and needs to be enhanced no matter what. Supply chain movement depends so much on the port security to be efficient and safe. America due to the importance of global supply chain after the 9/11 attack came up with the homeland security department which had a role of maintaining security in the country. an army from the department is stated with the responsibilities of maintaining port security for the efficient supply chain. On the other hand, the united states also came up with container initiative which was meant to prevent any terrorist attack via the container shipping method (Knutsson, & Lindberg, 2018). All the containers before taken to America have to be screened and investigated nit to be used by the terrorist to attack the country. the border security concept is also part of maintaining port security. The concept is implemented by the homeland security department in connection with the custom border protection. The global partners to ensure safe and productive supply chain and have secure ports have put different programs in place (Knutsson, & Lindberg, 2018)

Container Security Initiative and the Objectives

References

Banomyong*, R. (2005). The impact of port and trade security initiatives on maritime supply-chain management. Maritime Policy & Management, 32(1), 3-13.

Blackwell, J. L. (2017). CBRN WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION: THE RELEVANCE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY CHEMICAL CORPS IN THE SUPPORT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND DEFENSE AGAINST STATE AND NON-STATE ACTORS. US Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth United States.

Dowell, A., & McClellan, R. (2017). ADVANCING GEOSPATIAL SCIENCE EDUCATION THROUGH MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S DIVISION OF CAREER AND COLLEGE READINESS HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM. In Paper Presented at the Imaging & Geospatial Technology Forum (IGTF) 2017-ASPRS Annual Conference Baltimore. The Maryland United States.

Frittelli, J. (2008). Port and maritime security: background and issues for Congress. Port and Maritime Security, 11.

Harrald, J. R., Stephens, H. W., & Rene vanDorp, J. (2004). A framework for sustainable port security. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 1(2).

Helmick, J. S. (2008). Port and maritime security: A research perspective. Journal of Transportation Security, 1(1), 15-28.

Hönke, J., & Cuesta-Fernandez, I. (2018). Mobilising security and logistics through an African port: A controversies approach infrastructure. Mobilities, 1-15.

Panayides, P. M. (2017). Global supply chain integration and competitiveness of port terminals. In Ports, cities, and global supply chains (pp. 43-56). Routledge.

Wilting, H. C., & van Oorschot, M. M. (2017). Quantifying biodiversity footprints of Dutch economic sectors: A global supply-chain analysis. Journal of cleaner production, 156, 194-202.

Kwak, D. W., Seo, Y. J., & Mason, R. (2018). Investigating the relationship between supply chain innovation, risk management capabilities and competitive advantage in global supply chains. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 38(1), 2-21.

John, A., Yang, Z., Riahi, R., & Wang, J. (2018). A Decision Support System for the Assessment of Seaports’ Security Under Fuzzy Environment. In Modeling, Computing and Data Handling Methodologies for Maritime Transportation (pp. 145-177). Springer, Cham.

Park, H. G., & Park, Y. (2018). Examining the perceived impact of financial investment in AEO certification on performance through trade facilitation and public and private partnership. International Journal of Logistics Management, The, (just-accepted), 00-00.

Matelsky, J., Kiar, G., Johnson, E., Rivera, C., Toma, M., & Gray-Roncal, W. (2018). Container-Based Clinical Solutions for Portable and Reproducible Image Analysis. Journal of digital imaging, 1-6.

Knutsson, B., & Lindberg, J. (2018). Depoliticisation and dissensus in the global partnership for education: rethinking the post-political condition. Journal of International Relations and Development, 1-26.