The Port of Marseille gets the U.S. Customs’ CSI approval

The French Customs Office has just informed the Port of Marseille Authority (PMA) that the US Customs had given a favorable response to the application of the Marseille-Fos Port to the "Container Security Initiative" programme.
The security level of France’s largest port is thus acknowledged as meeting the security criteria set forth by the US Customs.
This approval - effective as of March 31, 2003, reinforces the position of the PMA vis a vis the US market.
Thanks to the opening of a new line to the US in October 2002, the containers traffics should experience a major growth in 2003, following a remarkable increase of + 10 % in 2002.
Robert C. Bonner, commissioner of US Customs, had announced the likely approval of the PMA in November 2002.
The PMA had taken all the necessary measures to meet the new security conditions imposed by the US as early as the beginning of February 2002, date at which the programme begun for the other 20 ports approved as a first step.
On July 12, 2002, the Board of the PMA approved a first investment of 1,100 K? to equip the port with container scanners.
A mobile scanner should soon be operational in the Fos container terminal. A fixed scanner could be installed in 2004.
These container scanners will reinforce the existing safety system: computerized tracking of goods, control to the access of the Fos container terminal.
In 2002, the traffic to the USA totalled 2.25 mt including 886,000 tonnes of miscellaneous goods and about 57,000 teu.
77 % of the containerized traffic is to the export.
The reinforcement of the security measures would concern the ‘’export’’ containers to the USA, i.e. a monthly mean tonnage of 3,500 teu in Fos and between 40 and 100 teu/month in Marseille.