Port of Seattle receives security grants worth more than $2 million

The Port of Seattle today received a $2 million grant aimed at improving maritime security and emergency response with specialized training, planning and response capability for Puget Sound area fire departments and the maritime industry.

In addition, the Port received other federal grants totaling $171,000 for physical security upgrades. This is the third round of grants from the Transportation Security Administration in which Seattle has received funding.

The emergency-response grant will provide funding to establish a maritime emergency response plan for the Puget Sound Region. The funding is from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In June the Port of Seattle received $2.1 million in DHS funding to improve security at cruise ship facilities and upgrade equipment for the Port of Seattle Police Department.

The Port of Seattle will administer the grant and work with the Puget Sound Marine Firefighting Commission to create the plan, conduct the training and establish response capability. The Commission is made up of firefighting agencies in Anacortes, Bainbridge Island, Bellingham, Edmonds, Everett, Olympia, Port Angeles, Seattle and Tacoma. Other Commission members include the Marine Exchange of Puget Sound, the Marine Response Alliance, the North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owners Association, the Puget Sound Steamship Operators Association, Washington State Ferries, Foss Maritime, Western States Petroleum Association and the Washington State Maritime Cooperative.

“The ports in our urban areas, such as Seattle, Tacoma and Everett have worked as partners to make great strides in improving maritime security since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,” said Port of Seattle CEO M. R. Dinsmore. “Most of those efforts have been aimed at detecting and preventing terrorist actions. This grant is focused on responding to terrorist acts should they occur. It also extends those efforts beyond the urban areas to communities and facilities in suburban and rural settings. We’re happy to help provide additional maritime security not just in our own harbor, but throughout the region.”

“We need to be prepared to deal with extraordinary disasters in the marine environment,” said A.D. Vickery, Chair of the Commission and Deputy Chief of Safety and Homeland Security for the Seattle Fire Department. “The potential for terrorist acts falls squarely into the category of extraordinary disasters. The Port of Seattle has been a leader in helping the region become more prepared to respond to marine emergencies.”

The work funded by the grant will take place in 2004 and 2005.

In addition, the port of Seattle received $171,000 for maritime security projects as part of a series of grants announced today by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The money will be used to protect utilities serving port facilities and power supplies for security systems already in place. The grant awards are the third in an ongoing series of grants by TSA. In the previous two rounds the Port of Seattle received $9.8 million for facility security upgrades.

“These grant funded security projects are critical not only for securing our facilities and the people who work there, but also for ensuring that global maritime commerce continues to flourish,” said Dinsmore.