Improved Security Needed at U.S. Ports, Boxer Says

In another sign of heightened federal concern about port security, Sen. Barbara Boxer toured the Port of Los Angeles on Tuesday and promised to call for improved technology to guard against potential terrorism.

Boxer (D-Calif.) urged more screening of the thousands of cargo containers that arrive at the port each day, saying that guarding U.S. ports against terrorism is essential for the nation’s safety and the well-being of the economy.

“It’s a new world. It’s a different type of enemy that we face,” Boxer told reporters at a news conference after her tour. She vowed to introduce legislation to ensure tighter controls on incoming cargo.

Some shippers have expressed concern about increased screening of cargo, warning that it could slow the movement of goods when stores and factories depend on speedy deliveries.

Even so, Boxer is not alone on Capitol Hill in calling for stepped-up security at U.S. ports. A number of senators and congressional representatives have proposed measures to protect port trade. California’s other Democratic senator, Dianne Feinstein, introduced her own bill earlier this year.

However, that concern has not yet translated into major federal funding of new security measures at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the largest seaport complex in the nation. More than 40% of the nation’s international trade passes through the two ports, prompting fears the complex could be a prime terrorist target.

Despite such fears, federal money has gone elsewhere.

Officials at the Los Angeles port, for instance, applied for $36 million in federal security assistance last year and received $750,000 -- money allotted to plan for a new inspection station at the port where high-risk containers can be searched by hand. Such searches are now conducted at a warehouse several miles away in Carson.

But even when that study is completed, the port does not have the federal funding to build the inspection station. Stepped-up security measures at the two ports have been financed largely by local governments and agencies.

“The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach have been doing it without help from anyone,” said Dennis McCarbery, public information director for the L.A. port.

“It’s a national security issue,” added Dennis Cunningham, chief of the Los Angeles Port Police as the Coast Guard vessel Halibut carried Boxer and other officials through a channel lined by giant cargo ships and hundreds of stacked containers.

Boxer vowed to target those containers with legislation that she plans to introduce within weeks. One measure would require that 100% of those containers be screened with X-ray-type equipment, up from roughly 6% to 8% today. Another measure would require that all containers be blast-resistant to minimize damage if a bomb hidden in a container exploded at a port.

Boxer could not immediately estimate how much the two measures would cost, but said the investment would prove cost-effective in the long run.