SAUDIS SHOW HIGH LEVEL OF INTEREST IN MEGAPORTS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 RIYADH 007501

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NNSA FOR KILMARTIN AND FINK; PNNL FOR WALLIS.

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2016
TAGS: KNNP ENRG PARM OTRA PREL PGOV SA
SUBJECT: SAUDIS SHOW HIGH LEVEL OF INTEREST IN MEGAPORTS
INITATIVE

REF: SECSTATE 141000

Classified By: A/DCM David Rundell for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S) Summary and Comment: The SAG appears to be seriously
considering implementing the Megaports Initiative (MI) to
provide radiological/nuclear materials detection equipment in
the Kingdom's two largest ports of Jeddah and Dammam. During
their September 8-13 Megaports outreach visit to the Kingdom,
three U.S. Department of Energy representatives met with
officials from the Interior and Foreign Ministries, and
toured the Jeddah and Dammam ports. The Saudi officials
noted that King Abdullah was aware of the DOE visit and that
he would be formally briefed on the MI. At the end of their
visit, the DOE discussed the following next steps toward
implementing MI in the Kingdom: 1) allowing a SAG delegation
to visit a U.S. and/or foreign port where the MI is
operational; 2) allowing a SAG delegation to observe a
Megaports operator training course at the Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory; and 3) providing the SAG with a sample
Memorandum of Understanding. End Summary and Comment.


2. (S) During their September 8-13 visit to Saudi Arabia two
officials from the DOE's National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA) and a technical expert from the Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) discussed the Megaports
Initiative with officials from the Saudi interior and foreign
ministries. The Megaports team, along with PolMilOff, toured
the ports of Jeddah and Dammam, and met the top port and
customs officials in both cities. Six officials from the
Ministry of Interior (MOI) escorted the Megaports team
throughout their stay in the Kingdom.

U.S. Participants
--------------
William Kilmartin, NNSA, Megaports Initiative Program Director
Michael Fink, NNSA, Megaports Initiative Project Manager
Bruce Wallis, PNNL, Megaports Initiative Project Manager


Saudi Participants
--------------
Mr. Naif al-Sudairy, Counselor, International Organizations,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Sahir Tahlawi, Director General Jeddah Islamic Port
Mr. Suleiman Abdullah al-Tuwaijri, Director General Jeddah
Customs
Mr. Naeem Ibrahim al-Naeem, Director General Dammam Port
Mr. Othman Abdulrahman al Rifiye, Director General Dammam
Customs
COL Engineer Muhammad Nasir al-Mihwis, Ministry of Interior
CDR Mohammed Ali al-Faridi, Ministry of Interior/Border Guards
LTC Dr. Emad Muhammad Saleh Altaf, Ministry of Interior
(nuclear/biological/chemical sciences)
MAJ Engineer Ali Abdulrahman al-Shehri, Ministry of
Interior/Civil Defense
CPT Abdullah bin Abdulrahman al-Miqrin, Ministry of
Interior/Public Security (explosives technician)
Engineer Musa Hussein Waheesi, Ministry of Interior
(intelligence)
Also present in Jeddah and Dammam were several Saudi Coast
Guards officers

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100% CONTAINER SECURITY
--------------


3. (S) The port directors at Jeddah and Dammam said that 100%
of all imported containers are either X-rayed or manually
inspected. Customs officials at the ports of Jeddah and
Dammam currently operate five highly sophisticated X-ray
systems that can scan the contents of up to 40 semi-truck
sized containers per hour. Jeddah operates three of the

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X-ray systems while Dammam has two, which reportedly cost 20
million USD each. The Jeddah port director said that 60% of
all containers imported through Jeddah are X-rayed and the
remaining 40% are hand-inspected. The Dammam port director
said that approximately half of all containers arriving in
Dammam are X-rayed and the other half are inspected by hand.
According to the Dammam authorities, the bulk of imported
goods are foodstuffs and construction materials.


4. (S) The port directors added that much of the Kingdom's
exported cargo is already either manually inspected or
X-rayed. The bulk of Saudi exports are from the
petrochemicals industry, particularly SABIC, the Kingdom's
largest exporter. The Jeddah customs director said that
customs officials are permanently stationed at SABIC's export
facilities, where they verify the shipments, seal the
containers and clear the products for export. He added that
most containers exported from smaller, unknown entities are
X-rayed.


5. (S) During their September 10 meeting at the Port
Authority Headquarters in Riyadh, the Dammam port director
told the Megaports team, "security is our first priority, for
both imports and exports." The port authorities said that
they are most concerned about the smuggling of drugs,
alcohol, weapons and other contraband. The Jeddah port
director said that drug smuggling was his primary concern,
but he was not too concerned about alcohol, which is illegal
in the Kingdom. The Dammam port director said that both
drugs and alcohol were a problem, and he showed the Megaports
visitors several X-ray images of alcohol smuggled in a
shipment of pottery.

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MEGAPORTS NEXT STEPS
--------------


6. (S) All of the SAG officials with whom the DOE team met
appeared genuinely interested in implementing the MI. Both
the Dammam and Jeddah port directors said that they would
recommend implementing the MI to their leadership, and added
that they help push the SAG to take the necessary next steps.
The DOE team discussed with their MOI interlocutors the
following possible next steps:

a) SAG officials to visit a U.S. and/or international port
where MI is operational;
b) SAG officials to visit PNNL's HAMMER Training Facility to
observe a MI operators training course;
c) DOE to provide the SAG with a draft or sample MI
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).


7. (S) The MOI officials said that they were eager to take
these next steps, after which they would submit their
official report and recommendations to the senior SAG
leadership. However, the MOI officials said that the timing
could be difficult because of Ramadan (late September-late
October) and MOI's official duties to support the Hajj
pilgrimage to Mecca (December-January). In the coming weeks,
DOE intends to provide the SAG with a draft MOU and to
propose dates to visit MI ports in early November.


8. (S) Comment: The SAG demonstrated an uncharacteristically
high-level of interagency cooperation in hosting the
Megaports team. MFA had the overall lead in developing the
itinerary and coordinating meetings. However, MOI--whose
authority includes border security, civil defense,
intelligence, coast guards, and WMD defense--was the primary
interlocutor for the group and would likely have oversight
over the implementation of the Megaports Initiative. The
actual operators of the radiation detection equipment would
likely be Saudi Customs officials, who fall under the
Ministry of Finance. Finally, the Saudi Port Authority

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belongs to the Ministry of Transportation. The Megaports
team met with representatives from each of these agencies,
all of whom were equally hospitable and receptive to the
proposal.


9. (S) Comment Continued: During their stay in the Kingdom,
the Megaports team was housed at the Conference Palace Hotels
in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam--an honor normally only granted
to senior level delegations and guests of the King. The MOI
and MFA representatives said that King Abdullah was
personally interested in the Megaports visit and that he
would be briefed on the team's findings. Such high-level
interest indicates that the SAG is serious about implementing
the MI and reflects the Kingdom's ongoing concerns with
Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. End Comment.
OBERWETTER