If ports are attacked, U.S. lacks plans to deal with aftermath.

• Author: Pappalardo, Joe
• Position: Upfront

While the United States has established protocols to halt shipping imports in the event of a terrorist strike at a port facility, officials concede there is no existing procedure to handle the hard part--turning it back On.

The lack of a plan indicates the complexities of handling threats against maritime targets, and the government's emphasis on taking care of airline security and monitoring containers over planning a response in the event of a sea-based attack.

Plans involving shipping require input and planning from a collection of domestic agencies, international businesses, local governments and the port operators themselves. Negotiations among these players can be lengthy and complex because there are billions of dollars at stake.

Reactivating shipping after a terrorist incident, and the larger issue of restoring confidence in the shipping system after such an event, has not yet been addressed despite an acknowledgment of its importance, said Adm. James Loy, deputy secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.

"Can I stand here and say to you that we have it all figured out? No," Loy said in answer to a question posed to him at a maritime security conference. "It is a dramatic challenge ... Our thinking includes as much of the aftermath of the God-forbid event as prevention."

The question of how the United States would react to preserve the world's economy if shipping is compromised is scheduled to receive front-burner attention. Elaine Dezenski, deputy assistant secretary for policy and planning at DHS' transportation directorate, told National Defense that there are plans within the department to devote attention to the issue in 2005.

"It's a multi-faceted problem," she said. "It reaches up to the beginning of the supply chain."

The network of shipping is a never-ending conveyor belt of goods into and out of the United States. The world of commerce operates in a just-in-time methodology, whereby goods are rushed to the shelves immediately upon delivery. The supply chain involves a network of air, rail and shipping links, each of which may jam if another shuts down. Any such shutdown could cost billions of dollars a day.

The resumption of shipping also is being used as a tool to get companies interested in complying with new security regimes instituted by the United States and United Nations. This would allow DHS officials to pose the rules to hesitant international players as an incentive to participate, or insurance against a...