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Homeland Security awards Port of Long Beach $2.7 million grant
Long Beach Aug 14, 2023
| Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
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The Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $2.7 million grant aimed at enhancing security at the Port of Long Beach to ensure the safe movement of cargo during an emergency, port officials announced Monday.
The port will use the funding to modernize its core security network, strengthen existing security systems and enhance resiliency and business continuity in the event of a disaster. Port officials said they “welcomed” the funding to improve the port’s ability to “prepare for, respond to and recover from large-scale emergencies.”
“The ports are the backbone of our local economy, and vital to the nation’s trade,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. “By investing in our security measures, we are not only protecting the movement of valuable cargo, but also securing the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on the port’s operations.”
The $2.7 million grant will be divided across four projects, including:
— Maintenance for closed-circuit television and wireless security systems, including more than 750 cameras keeping watch across the port;
— Support for existing security access control systems and information-sharing platforms connecting commercial agencies and law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels;
— Expansion of a cloud-based resiliency network in the event of terrorism, a cybersecurity attack, a natural disaster or other emergency outages; and
— Modernization of the port’s core security network to protect the integrity of the systems monitored by its security headquarters, the Joint Command and Control Center.
“This grant will strengthen our ability to protect the workforce and critical infrastructure responsible for moving cargo valued at more than $200 billion annually,” Mario Cordero, CEO of the Port of LB, said in a statement.
Long Beach Harbor Commission President Sharon Weissman expressed her gratitude for their federal partners. She said the grant will help “ensure the safe and reliable movement of goods and secure our position as a leader in the trans-Pacific trade.”
The Department of Homeland Security’s Port Security Grant Program awards funding to state, local and private-sector agencies for security projects that protect port infrastructure from terrorism, improve maritime security risk management and strengthen security mitigation protocols.
