Here is the Article I posted last night.
Houston tightning up it's ports as part of new Homeland
Security Measures.
Thursday was the first day of stepped-up inspections at U.S. ports, including Houston, which for the past eight years has led the nation in the amount of foreign tonnage.
Under the new guidelines mandated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, officials may verify security of ships before the vessels enter ports and deny access to those that are not in compliance.
"Our plans are designed to be comprehensive and continually tested, revised and updated," said Tom Kornegay, the port's executive director.
He said all facilities at the port were in compliance with the new federal law. A security management team at the port spent six months developing a security plan that was submitted to the Coast Guard late last year.
The plan remains under Coast Guard review and has not received certification although port officials said it was expected soon.
"The Coast Guard is confident that the port authority's intense efforts will significantly strengthen security by measures to deter threats and provide a framework for response to a significant safety or security incident," said Capt. Richard M. Kaser, who commands the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office for Houston and Galveston.
The Coast Guard will board every foreign-flagged vessel that sails without paperwork into the world's sixth-largest seaport, which also is the nation's largest oil port.
Officials are calling the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, or ISPS, the biggest security crackdown since World War II.
The port, part of the 50-mile-long Houston Ship Channel that connects Houston to the Gulf of Mexico, is home to the busiest container facility on the Gulf Coast, more than 400 petrochemical plants and two of the nation's largest oil refineries. Tankers comprise about half of the 40 vessels coming through Houston on a typical day.
The new security rules in the code require measures in place to screen crews and provide waterside security. Ships and ports must also have security plans, as well as programs to limit access to vulnerable areas.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/070104_APlocal_port.html
Thank you. That sounds like a good plan, but do we really have the resources to pull it off?