I N T R O D U C T I O N
Events of the recent past, most notably 9/11, have caused an unprecedented focus and commitment on homeland security not seen since World War II. Millions of concerned Americans are convinced of inevitable strikes against America’s weakest lines of defense. It is widely believed that port security involving knowledge of the contents of all containers moving in and out of the United States will be absolutely necessary for combating the threats of terrorism and widespread drug smuggling.
Currently no more than 2% of inbound cargo containers into the United States are inspected. This leaves a vast majority of cargo containers completely uncontrolled, providing what is perhaps the most promising method for terrorists to deliver their message of evil. In addition, drug trafficking and other illegal activities such as people smuggling have been tolerated through our ports of entry due to a complete inability to police the millions of cargo containers arriving in and departing from this country annually.
Port Systems, Inc. has been formed to educate, market, and implement a system to combat this threat of terrorism at our ports. The term "Container-Cargo Automated Transfer System" (C-C.A.T.S) has been selected to describe the overall methodology. As the reader will learn, there are significant commercial and other social benefits as well, making the idea both economically viable and important to our national security and well-being.