Security & Safety Briefs - July 22 - July 28
The Latest Headlines:
- Cargo Backlog at Port Raises Security Concerns
- Congress Approves $8.2 Billion Budget for Coast Guard
- Philadelphia-Bound Turkish Ship Detoured
- Senate Confirms Stone for TSA Post
- Congress Approves $8.2 Billion Budget for Coast Guard
Cargo Backlog at Port Raises Security Concerns
Dockworkers and security experts said cargo congestion and labor shortages at seaports are not only creating long delays, but also potential threats to national security, the New York Times reported Tuesday.Security and intelligence experts have identified the nation's 361 seaports as prime targets for a potential terrorist attack.
David Arian, president of Local 13 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said the facilities and work crews at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have not been able to keep up with incoming volumes, and some new port regulations from the Department of Homeland Security were not being followed, the Times said.
Congress Approves $8.2 Billion Budget for Coast Guard
The Senate on Thursday sent to President Bush a bill that approves the spending of $8.2 billion for the Coast Guard, the Associated Press reported.The bill, for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, increases active-duty Coast Guard personnel to 45,500 from 37,000 and gives officers authority to carry firearms and make arrests for maritime security violations, AP said.
However, it omits language included in the original House bill that would have required the Coast Guard to approve security plans for every foreign vessel that enters a U.S. port. Instead, House and Senate negotiators decided to stay with the current system under which a foreign government is responsible for approving each security plan.
Besides security responsibilities, the Coast Guard carries out search and rescue missions, interdiction of contraband, maritime resource protection and national defense functions. Transport Topics
Philadelphia-Bound Turkish Ship Detoured
The captain of a Turkish merchant ship headed into Philadelphia harbor falsely told a Coast Guard inspector the vessel had a bomb on board Thursday, the Associated Press reported.Barry Maddox, a spokesman for the FBI's Baltimore field office, said Yildirim Bayazer Tumer became agitated when members of the Philadelphia Coast Guard boarded the ship for a routine inspection.
The ship was held near Bowers Beach on the Delaware Bay while during the investigation. Authorities did not find evidence of a bomb on the ship, which was carrying steel, AP said.
Tumer was charged with making a false statement to a federal official, a felony. Transport Topics
Senate Confirms Stone for TSA Post
The Department of Homeland Security said that the Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of Rear Adm. David Stone as assistant secretary of Homeland Security for the Transportation Security Administration.President Bush nominated Stone on April 8. Stone was appointed as TSA’s acting administrator on Dec. 4, after serving as deputy chief of staff since August 2003.
DHS said that Stone spent 28 years in the Navy. Transport Topics
