Homeland Security
March 2008 IssuePorts Partnering With DHS on TWIC Implementation Roll Out
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began enrolling port workers in its Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program in October at the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, and continued enrollments at 11 more ports in November, with the goal of enrolling all U.S. port workers by this September.
The TWIC program, which includes longshoremen, truckers and other workers, is meant to ensure that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough federal background check and is not a security threat. The TWIC program will include criminal background, immigrant status and terrorist watch list screening.
Other developments include the publication of an updated enrollment location port list and a revised final rule that lowered the credential fee to $132.50.
The ports registered in November included Corpus Christi, Texas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Beaumont, Texas; Honolulu, Hawaii; Oakland, California; Tacoma, Washington; Chicago/Calumet, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Port Arthur, Texas; Providence, Rhode Island; and Savannah, Georgia.
The order of ports is based on a variety of factors, including risk, geographic location, size and contractor resources. For more information, visit www.dhs.gov.
Coast Guard Takes Delivery Of High-Tech Facility
Last month, the U.S. Coast Guard, Integrated Coast Guard Systems and Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Maryland) completed the final phase of the $20 million command, control, computers, communications intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) simulator at Training Center Petaluma in Petaluma, California.
The completion of this training suite represents a milestone in the Coast Guard’s $24 billion, 25-year modernization and recapitalization plan known as Deepwater, Coast Guard officials said. As a result of commonality between Coast Guard and U.S. Navy C4ISR equipment, the training simulator provides both Coast Guard and Navy crews with a safe, high-fidelity environment to develop the skills and expertise needed to sail the military’s newest, most capable ships into the 21st century, officials said.
To date, more than 80 Coast Guard and 20 Navy students have attended nine courses at the new facility, and the first-of-its-kind team training convened later in December for 30 members of the first national security cutter, Bertholf. Additionally, the site has served as a resource in the installation, evaluation and testing of the C4ISR suite for Bertholf. C4ISR encompasses a wide range of technical and operational functions, systems and activities.
The C4ISR suite being installed on Deepwater cutters, as well as legacy Coast Guard cutters, provides the United States’ lead maritime homeland security agency with the same interoperable intelligence and communications standard as that of the Department of Defense and other government first responders, officials said.
The Calhoun Building, site of a multimillion dollar renovation and outfitting project hosting the C4ISR training simulator, now houses classrooms, high-tech shipboard operations simulators and radar and electronics systems to train crews of the Coast Guard’s new Legend-class national security cutters. For more information, visit www.lockheedmartin.com
PHA Commission Considers Port Security Initiatives
The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority (PHA) in Texas recently considered about $500,000 in port security initiatives, including fiber optics equipment at Bayport, Texas, and replacement of the guardhouse at Gate 18, as well as more than $15.3 million in environmental initiatives for air quality monitoring at Bayport, a goods movement air emission inventory at the Port of Houston, dredged area management, dust suppression at East Industrial Park and Pine Gully mitigation.
Commissioners were asked to authorize execution of a change order to Morganti Texas Inc. (Houston) for Bayport Cruise Terminal Complex Phase 1 terminal building for $468,800.
The deal includes a $400,000 allowance for security equipment, along with a $68,800 installation cost. Because of a change in requirements for cameras and the need for integration of components throughout the site into a functioning system, it is no longer practical to have the contractor furnish a portion of the security system, making it necessary to delete the equipment and installation from this contract, representatives said.
Commissioners were also asked to authorize an amendment of the design/build contract with BAE Systems Information and Electronic Integration Inc. (London, England) for Bayport terminal security and telecommunication systems integration for $447,479. This amendment provided the equipment, materials and labor required for the installation, testing, training, acceptance, construction management and warranty for fiber optics equipment for the Phase 1, Stage 1 container yard operational radio data terminal network and security cameras.
It will also provide for design modifications for the cruise terminal to incorporate additional security cameras and related equipment requested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A professional services contract to Michael J. Frazier, the political consultant, and the Mondello Group was considered. The group played an instrumental role in supporting the port authority’s federal agenda in 2007, including increasing the funding available to the Houston Ship Channel project, placing port priorities in the Water Resources Development Act and assisting with port security issues, PHA representatives said.
The commission was asked to authorize professional services contracts to Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP; Baker Botts LLP; J.E. “Buster” Brown and Associates; Al Luna; and the Texas Lobby Group, which helped support the port authority’s agenda during the 2007 session of the Texas legislature, including passage of legislation that limits liability on dredging, authorizes the creation of a ship channel security district and creates a permanent two-year rolling validation act, port representatives said. For more information, visit www.portofhouston.com
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