News

A new $US12.4 million state-of-the art container scanner has been installed at the Haifa port to facilitate clearing of containers and enhance the quality of services delivered to customers.
 
The port of Haifa in Israel became on September 25, 2007, the 55th operational Container Security Initiative – CSI, port to target and pre-screen maritime cargo containers destined for U.S. ports.
 
During the inauguration ceremony held last week, in the presence of Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Deputy Finance Minister Yitzhak Cohen, Yehuda Nasradishi, Director General Israel Tax Authority, Doron Arbeli, Head of Custom Directorate, Mendi Zaltzman CEO Haifa Port Ltd & Roni Bar-Sinai, Director Haifa Customs, Finance Minister noted that cargo security technology increases the screening and security of containers against acts of terrorism and generate productivity benefits for the economy and profits for ports, shippers, carriers and ultimately the consumers.
 
Roni Bar-Sinai, Director Haifa Customs, noted that the new scanning facility will enable customs to check 160 containers per day, 20 per hour, compared to 40 per day previously.
 
The Container Security Initiative, launched after the terrorist attacks of 2001, is a cooperative effort with host country governments to identify and screen high-risk shipments before they leave participating ports. More than 80% of all cargo containers destined for U.S. shores originate in or are transshipped through 60 CSI ports in North, South and Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
 
The initiative seeks to pre-screen and evaluate containers before they are shipped. Containers are screened as early in the supply chain as possible, generally at the port of departure.
 
The initiative also seeks to use technology to prescreen high-risk containers to ensure that screening can be done rapidly without slowing down the movement of trade. This technology includes large-scale X-ray and gamma ray machines and radiation detection devices.

 

Ben Gurion International Airport announced last week that the tender stage to provide planning and supervision services for the construction of a new air traffic control tower at Ben Gurion airport had been completed.
 
The new NIS 100 million control tower which will adjoin the west side Terminal 3 is a new stage in upgrading the runways in the Israel Airport Authority's safety master plan.
 
The new control tower is being built as part of the Lapidot's Committee's recommendations on improving safety at Ben Gurion Airport.
 
The Lapidot committee, created by former Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, declared the country's aviation security in a"catastrophic state," and criticized Israel's aviation infrastructure, saying it has not incorporated the technological advancements of the past few decades.
 
The committee also discovered air traffic controllers do not always communicate in English and fail to use the appropriate terminology. It recommended that oversight of air control systems improve and make air traffic control training more rigorous.
 
The location and features of the new control tower were determined after a detailed and comprehensive study in cooperation with the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and aviation experts who sat on the Lapidot Committee.
 
In 2008 the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration "uncovered severe security shortcomings" and cited a lack of proper supervision from civilian authorities as the major problem affecting flight safety.
 
Among other findings, the FAA found that Ben-Gurion International Airport suffers from serious flight safety shortcomings and cited Israel's especially crowded airspace as a serious safety concern.