What is the importance of tamper-evident seals on shipments?

• A. They slow down loading unnecessarily.
• B. They help detect unauthorized access or tampering during transit and support chain-of-custody.
• C. They are decorative and have no security value.
• D. They are required only for air shipments.

Answer: (B)

Tamper-evident seals are about maintaining the integrity of a shipment and proving who handled it at every step. They are designed to show if a container or package has been opened or breached during transit, providing a visible alert that security personnel can verify. By assigning and recording unique seal numbers at each handoff, the chain-of-custody becomes auditable: if a seal is found broken, missing, or mismatched, it flags potential tampering and prompts investigation or escalation. This makes it much easier for carriers, warehouses, and customs authorities to quickly identify where an issue occurred and who was responsible, helping to deter tampering and support accountability throughout the journey of the shipment. In practice, tamper-evident seals contribute to security across all modes of transport, not just a single route or method, and they complement other controls used in security programs like CTPAT.

The other statements miss the core purpose: these seals are not decorative and do have security value; they’re not intended to slow loading; and their use is not limited to air shipments.