CLEVELAND: The Port of Cleveland is busier than ever.
Ships deliver steel, grain and all kinds of consumer goods from 20 different countries.
2,000 containers will come through the Port of Cleveland this year.
Every day, every container must be inspected by Federal officers from US Customs and Border Protection.
“We are responsible for knowing what’s inside the containers, whether it poses a risk to the American people,” said Marc Hurteau, Area Port Director from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The containers are inspected for counterfeit goods, drugs and scanned by Homeland Security trucks with sophisticated equipment for radioactive chemicals that could be used by a terrorist.
“Yes, we are looking for bad people and any weapons they would use to do harm to the U.S. People.” Hurteau said.
Containers are inspected several times, even before they leave a foreign port destined for Cleveland.
“We have officers stationed overseas,” Hurteau said.
Port inspection of containers, which are 50 feet long and 7 and nearly a half foot high, is the last line of defense because once the containers are inspected, they could end up on a truck or a train and go anywhere in North America.
So far this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have inspected containers on ships coming from the following locations:
- Belgium
- Norway
- Germany
- Greece
- Netherlands
- United Kingdom
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Finland
- Italy
- Poland
- Spain
Most ships in the Port of Cleveland come from Canada, China and Mexico.
