Transport workers want to feel safe from terrorism. For this we need a security strategy that treats workers as a primary resource, not as prime suspects, argues STUART HOWARD, ITF Assistant General Secretary.

Last November Admiral James Loy, Commandant of the US Coast Guard, addressed a meeting of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in London to introduce proposals for worldwide measures to tighten maritime security. He noted that: “What we saw on 11 September was new hijackers taking over commercial flights for the sole purpose of turning them into human guided weapons of mass destruction.”

The way in which civilian aircraft were horrifyingly turned into weapons of terror has led to a sweeping review of security in the transport industries, particularly in the United States. Ships carrying liquified petroleum gas, shipping containers (potentially armed with bombs and timing and/or location devices), crop-spraying aircraft, trucks visiting ports, and trains carrying nuclear waste have all become viewed as potential weapons.

The US Transportation Secretary Norman Y Mineta warned the American Trucking Association recently: “Your trucks are the engine of the American economy… We must take necessary steps to ensure they are not used as engines of destruction,” and that “every driver must realise his or her truck is a potential tool for terrorists.”

In this environment, the vast global system of transport logistics, which by design aims at the freest possible flow of goods around the world, is now suddenly viewed as a potential Trojan horse.

Admiral Loy talks of the need for “a secure chain of custody for containers from their port of origin to their destination” in the country’s interior. There has even been some discussion in the industry about whether “just in time” delivery systems can coexist within this security conscious atmosphere.

Booking air cargo on airlines in some cases now takes 24 hours longer than before. Entry and departure to port areas is likely to be slowed. Border crossings, which can already involve lengthy unpaid waits for truck drivers, may get substantially worse.

In a much publicised recent case, Ford was forced to close some automobile production lines after delivery of parts was held up because of increased security checks on trucks at the Canadian border. Secretary Mineta has issued warnings that the United States has entered “a slower, more expensive transportation era” in the wake of 11 September.