Free Republic

New Orleans to Become One of the Country's First Ports to Institute a New Monitoring System Mar 24, 2004 By Doug Simpson / Associated Press Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Since 1936, a lone federal worker has sat in a tower along the Mississippi River, scanning the water with binoculars and radioing ship captains on whether to proceed or stop their vessels. Not for long. The radioman will be gone by the end of the year, replaced by a new computerized system that will track and send messages to all large vessels on the lower Mississippi. The system will be...

The top U.S. Customs official on Monday unveiled new high-tech equipment that will be used at the nation's seaports in the fight against terrorism. Highly sophisticated radiation monitors will be installed at every seaport in the United States. The sensitive detection equipment is designed to prevent terrorists from smuggling radioactive material, in the form of dirty bombs or nuclear weapons, into the country. The Port of New York and New Jersey, one of the nation's busiest seaports, will be equipped with the monitors by the end of August, making it one of the first to have them. U.S. Customs Commissioner...