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Zero funding for seaport security
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Posted on Aug 16 2004
Saipan seaport has not received any federal funding to improve its facilities since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Seaport manager Antonio Cabrera said in an interview yesterday that his office had submitted a $1.4-million security improvement grant application since 2002 but no such funding has arrived up to now.
“Well, we know that it’s a process. You can’t get it overnight,” said Cabrera.
He said, though, that the $1.4 million is urgently needed to address key security concerns at the seaport.
“It will be used to upgrade security equipment such as monitors. It will be used for fence construction and several other items to improve safety and security at the port,” said Cabrera.
Cabrera said that his office has implemented cost-cutting measures to ensure that certain security issues are addressed.
“We’ve used our own budget to address certain things,” he said.
The Saipan seaport had completed its facility security plan way before the Dec. 31, 2003 submission deadline.
Cabrera said the document had been submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard, which then submitted it to the Homeland Security Department in Washington D.C.
The report, which would translate into federal funding assistance beginning this year, would ensure the port’s compliance with federal requirements.
Cabrera said that port authorities had worked with a government-hired consultancy group in preparing the port security plan to ensure prompt compliance.
The seaport also expects to receive funding under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, which aims to provide grants for enhanced facility security at all U.S. ports for the next six fiscal years.
