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Beirut Port now equipped to detect radioactive material

11 November 2010

BEIRUT: The capital became the first port in the Middle East to be equipped with devices capable of detecting radioactive material Wednesday, as part of the US’ worldwide crackdown on smuggled nuclear cargo.

In the latest installation of its “Megaports” initiative, the US Embassy handed control of six nuclear detection systems over to Beirut Port authorities. The ceremony was presided over by US Ambassador Maura Connelly, who praised the role played by Lebanese officials in hooking the country up to Washington’s anti-nuclear trafficking network.

“The US greatly values the outstanding cooperation we have received from Lebanese Customs and the Beirut Port,” she said. “The key to this success has been the willingness of key people in the port to take responsibility for the operation of the system. We look forward to continued partnership and collaboration with the Lebanese government on critical nonproliferation efforts.”

The Megaports project already has operational devices installed in more than 40 ports worldwide. In addition to the six detectors unveiled Wednesday, the EU is set to fund seven installations to be deployed in Beirut by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The devices will allow port authorities to detect and interdict illicitly trafficked nuclear and radioactive materials.

Beirut Port has been the subject of a number of weapons smuggling busts, the largest of which came in November 2009, when Israeli naval commandoes boarded an Antiguan-flagged ship carrying what Israeli media claimed to be a haul of 3,000 rockets, sent from Iran and destined for Hizbullah. Although the ship, the Francop, was bound for the Syrian port of Latakia, the vessel was held for several days by Israeli authorities before being inspected in Beirut.

While there was no suggestion that nuclear material had been held on the Francop, Israel has voiced concerns about what it maintains is the smuggling of Iranian-made weapons and materiel into Lebanon for Hizbullah’s use.

With growing Western concern pertaining to Iran’s nuclear program, the Megaports installation in Beirut, while not instigated with any specific smuggling threat in mind, forms part of the US’ wider crackdown on nuclear smuggling.

The US National Nuclear Security Administration, in its most recent report on Megaports, explained the motivation behind installing fixed, mobile and handheld detection devices at borders, ports and air terminals worldwide.

“The Megaports strategy is based on the assumption that adversaries have the least control over illicit nuclear and other radioactive materials during the transport stage,” the report said. “The deployment of radiation detection systems also deters nuclear smugglers from using the maritime shipping network, forcing them to turn to other, more easily interdicted means of transportation.”

The Port of Beirut is one of the largest and most used in the Eastern Mediterranean, with its 16 quays capable of handling three quarters of a million 20 foot containers each year.

© Copyright The Daily Star 2010.