X-ray to boost port security

Cargo containers in Charleston just became transparent.

The millions of multicolored steel boxes that pass through the Port of Charleston every year can now be singled out for a closer look without opening a door.

If security officials suspect a box contains goods other than what the shipping manifest states, it can be passed through an X-ray machine so sophisticated it can see through 14 inches of steel.

The state-of-the-art technology, called the OmniView Gantry X-ray Inspection System, was unveiled Friday at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Container Examination Station off Clements Ferry Road.

U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., said the machine will help security officials in Charleston detect any smuggling attempts made by terrorist organizations around the world.

"We recognize that there are some suspicious items we need to take a closer look at, and this is another way of doing it," Brown said.

The OmniView costs between $3 million and $5 million and takes just 45 seconds to scan a container. The computer images can be built into a database and shared between Homeland Security agencies nationwide.

Previously, boxes tagged as suspicious had to be unsealed and stripped, said Pam Zaresk, area port director for Customs and Border Protection. Between 5 percent and 7 percent of containers that pass across Charleston's docks are diverted to the examination station for closer inspection, she said.

Whit Smith, vice chairman of the State Ports Authority and president of the Charleston Branch Harbor Pilots Association, said this latest technology is further evidence that Charleston is becoming a national model for port security.

The city already is home to Project Seahawk, a unified intelligence effort that brings together federal, state and local agencies to improve security at the Port of Charleston and in Charleston Harbor.

Overseen by the U.S. Justice Department, Seahawk was the nation's first collaborative counter- terrorism program set up to identify and respond to potential threats in U.S. waters and at U.S. ports, where experts say the nation is still highly vulnerable to terrorist activity.

Security, intelligence and law enforcement officials from all levels of government meet in a secret location daily. They discuss ship movements in and out of the port, and share information about cargo and crew members.

"Charleston is setting the bar when it comes to port security," Smith said.

Reach Peter Hull at 937-5594 or phull@postandcourier.com.