Supply chain partners have greater responsibility to ensure safe shipments
June 7, 2010
The federal government has announced its Air Cargo Security Program, a $95.7-million, five-year initiative to improve the security of air cargo shipments. As part of the program, partners in the supply chain have been given more responsibility to ensure safe shipments.
The program, which builds on the air cargo plan unveiled by the federal government in 2006, calls for all air cargo screening to be completed and verified to the highest security standards using leading technologies. It involves a new regulatory plan with the following four goals:
• There will be an obligation for all cargo shippers, freight forwarders and air carriers in the supply chain to ensure that cargo screening is completed and verified;
• Shippers, freight forwarders and air carriers will use newer and more effective technologies and processes to screen cargo;
• All companies involved in screening cargo will require thorough security checks; and
• Canada’s air cargo screening will be fully compatible with other trading partners, including the U.S.
The new funding will go towards new screening technology, government oversight of new inspectors, training programs, and support for shippers, agents, freight forwarders and air carriers to comply with the new program in its five-year time frame.
Under the program, the government will increase the scope of mandatory screening, for example, by making the higher-risk classes and the sources of air cargo a priority.
The new program will define which technologies and processes are acceptable for screening different risk classes of cargo along the supply chain. Factors that will be considered include the origin and destination of the cargo, the type of aircraft used (passenger or all-cargo), and the contents, size/configuration and wrapping/packaging and sealing of the cargo.
Through an analysis of these factors, shippers will know which screening process is acceptable: either physical inspection, canine check, explosives trace detection or X-ray scanning.
Air carriers will continue to have ultimate responsibility to ensure that cargo they take on board is secure, and will have the right to re-screen or refuse cargo whose security is suspect.
Transport Canada said greater involvement of supply chain partners is necessary because “it is neither practical nor desirable for all air cargo screening to be undertaken by air carriers at the last minute at the airport. Backlogs would result, and clog up the fast flow of massive amounts of air cargo shipments.”