Having assumed chairmanship of the American Association of Port Authorities, I’m regularly engaged in interface with legislative leaders. Although there are many priority concerns for the port industry — from obtaining sufficient infrastructure funding to advancing sustainability practices — the area I believe demands our most concerted attention is safety on the waterfront.
In 2011, we’ll mark the 10-year anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, and events since then remind us of the importance of keeping up our national security guard.
The answer to national safety is not likely to come through actions such as banning toner cartridges from aircraft, nor is it likely to be achieved via overseas scanning of 100 percent of cargo containers heading to U.S. ports.
Rather, we must persist in moving forward with productive partnerships of port authorities, government agencies and private-sector stakeholders to employ collaborative practices aimed at prevention, protection, response and recovery. A multilayered, risk-based approach provides the appropriate security benefits while allowing the continued flow of legitimate commerce.
Just as painful as the truth that about half the approximately $1.5 billion in annual federal Harbor Maintenance Tax collections is diverted to purposes unrelated to ship channels is the reality that hundreds of millions of dollars of the $2.3 billion in federal port security grant appropriations to date remain unspent. Thus, we not only must see that port security grant authorizations are maintained at $400 million or more a year, but we must encourage streamlining of the process in which funds are dispersed to awardees.
Working together, we can enhance port safety and security without undue constraints on vital trade.