BOSTON — U.S. Customs is investigating allegations that at least one steamship line is rerouting cargo to Canadian ports in order to avoid the agency's advance manifest filing requirements.

If the allegations are true, the carrier's cargo would be treated as "high-risk," Bureau of Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner told the 2003 Liner CEO Forum jointly organized by Massport and The Journal of Commerce.

"That's unacceptable, and extremely short sighted," said Bonner. He said his department is working with Canada to harmonize manifest requirements with the U.S, and said he felt that Canada will adopt its own version of the 24-hour rule fairly quickly.

Bonner said that governments representing 18 of the top 22 container ports in the world have signed up to participate in Customs' Container Security Initiative. He said that the agency has conducted many security-related seizures and identified suspicious cargo shipments, but has yet to find a "nuke in the box," he said.

He said that calls for 100 percent container security checks would slow down trade, and not measurably increase security. "All containers pose the risk of a potential terrorist threat," Bonner said. "We have to use advanced information to target containers that are a potential risk."

He said that various programs that use high-tech tools to track containers can also play a role in fighting terrorism. "We're looking at the whole system, in order to improve security," he said.

By Eugene Gilligan