Port Authority Overhauls Screening After Intelligence Gaps Exposed

The Port Authority of Nueva Singapur released a revised maritime-screening protocol on Thursday, effective immediately, after receiving a classified federal briefing from Meridian's Interior Ministry about coordinated activity in the Strait. The new procedures require all inbound cargo vessels to submit crew manifests seventy-two hours in advance, up from the current forty-eight-hour window, and mandate biometric verification of bridge officers before berthing clearance.

Port Authority director Rodrigo Tan said the measures reflect "heightened diligence without disruption to throughput." Container volumes at the deep-water berth averaged 18,400 TEU per day in August; Thursday's traffic ran to 17,800 TEU, within normal variance. The Authority declined to detail the federal warning or name any specific threat.

The revision comes as regional shipping lines report increased insurance premiums for vessels transiting the Strait. Bunker-fuel suppliers say demand for slower-transit routing has risen sharply in the past week, adding three to five days to typical crossings and raising per-ton costs by an estimated two percent across the region's fleet.