The TOC Asia 2008 Conference and Exhibition for the shipping, ports and terminals industry will be held at the Shanghai International Convention Centre from March 18-20.
Guest speakers include Richard DiNucci, acting director of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Secure Freight Initiative Office.
A statement from the event's organisers said Mr DiNucci will give conference delegates an overview of the US Secure Freight Initiative (SFI) during the session, "Container security - meeting next generation demands," in the morning of the second day.
Mr DiNucci's presentation will include an update about progress towards the 9/11 Commission Act requirement for 100 per cent scanning of all US-bound cargo by July 2012. In October 2007, the US Department of Homeland Security started a test run to scan every container destined for the US from a number of Asia and the Middle Eastern ports. This scanning information is being automatically integrated into the US Automated Targeting System (ATS) to improve the ability to assess risks.
He will furthermore discuss the Advance Trade Data Initiative "10+2", which was published in early January. This proposal requires both importers and carriers to submit 10 sets of data to CBP at least 24 hours before their cargo is loaded aboard a US-bound vessel.
The overall theme of this year's TOC Asia, "Challenges of Scale - Coping with Cascading Growth", focusing on the challenges facing major world ports of handling 8,000-TEU vessels.
"It needs to be recognised that large panamax and post-panamax vessels are now being deployed in intra-regional routes, putting additional strain on smaller ports that were not designed to cope with such volumes," the release said.
TOC Asia 2008 will be accompanied by a three-day exhibition, showcasing the latest in equipment, technology and services for the ports and terminals industry.
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