Page 9: of Marine News Magazine (February 2005)

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ECO Wins $241.5M

Navy Contract

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), Gal- liano, La., is being awarded a $26,616,165 firm fixed price contract with additional reimbursables for the time charter of one

Offshore Petroleum Discharge System (OPDS). The OPDS system provides rapid, mobile transfer of fuel from off- shore tankers to U.S. military fuel storage facilities ashore when conventional fuel transfer facilities are unavailable. Each

OPDS system includes one new-build support vessel and one tender. The ves- sels covered under this contract are to be named in the future.

This contract contains options, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to a total of $241,457,294. Work will be performed in the Guam/Saipan area, but are deployable worldwide, and is expected to be October 2006. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with more than 50 proposals solicited and two offers received. The U.S. Navy's Military

Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting authority (N00033-05-C- 3300).

Raymond to Serve on

Security Committee

Charles G. (Chuck) Raymond, chair- man, president and CEO of Horizon

Lines, has been appointed to a five-year term on the National Maritime Security

Advisory Committee.

The National Advisory Committee is established as required in The Maritime

Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA), signed on November 25, 2002.

That legislation was developed to pro- tect the nation¹s ports and waterways from possible future terrorist attacks.

Raymond¹s principal responsibility will be to "advise, consult with and make recommendations to the Depart- ment of Homeland Security, via the

Commandant of the Coast Guard" on matters related to national maritime security, according to Secretary Ridge. "This responsibility is very meaningful to me as we continue to face serious threats to our country¹s infrastructure and try to minimize the vulnerability of

America¹s marine transportation sys- tem," said Raymond. "I am grateful for the confidence of Secretary Ridge and commit my full resources to this signifi- cant assignment."

February, 2005 MarineNews 9

News

Responding to recent news coverage about major management challenges fac- ing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including the way the department has handled its Port Security Grants Pro- gram, American Association of Port

Authorities (AAPA) President Kurt Nagle said the criticism "misses the mark," not- ing that the program's biggest problem is a serious lack of money to assist Ameri- can seaports in paying for critical security measures. "Like airports, protecting our seaports against terrorism must be a top priority and a shared responsibility between the federal government, local public ports and private industry," said Nagle. "The federal government has mandated securi- ty enhancements for marine facilities, but has yet to adequately fund those man- dates, creating huge financial burdens on ports that have both security and econom- ic consequences."

Ports are already spending more than $3 billion annually on infrastructure improvements and operating expenses to keep pace with burgeoning world trade.

Without adequate federal help for securi- ty enhancements, Nagle said that ports will be forced to spend money on securi- ty instead of capital improvements, likely resulting in a system unable to handle the expected growth in trade volumes and causing enormous impacts on America's economy.

Throughout the country, ports are fac- ing massive new security spending requirements. For instance, the Port of

Miami has absorbed $6 million in costs annually for the past three years to pay for additional security operating costs, except for two grants totaling $4 million. The additional expenses have caused the port to put on hold such projects as road improvements, bulkhead repairs and con- struction of an intermodal container trans- fer facility. Similarly, according to a

December 27, 2004 Associated Press wire story, port directors on the Great Lakes say they are spending money on security enhancements that otherwise would pay for terminal and transportation improve- ments, such as dredging channels at the gateways for materials used in construc- tion and to produce steel used in automo- biles, appliances and other consumer goods.

In a draft report to be issued this month, a former DHS Inspector General ques- tioned the prioritization of port security grant funding and procedures related to post-award grant administration. AAPA's

Nagle noted that seaport security grant money is used to reimburse marine facili- ties only after they have spent money on an approved project. So, while some post- award projects may not be visited by DHS auditors, grant program money goes only to cover authorized expenses, which exclude personnel, maintenance and oper- ating costs. "Ensuring adequate security against ter- rorism is important for all ports, large and small," remarked Nagle, saying the prob- lem is a matter of funding. For Fiscal

Year'05, the AAPA advocated a federal funding level for America's seaport facili- ties of $400 million, based on Coast

Guard estimates that it will cost $5.4 bil- lion over the next 10 years to address ter- rorist threats. However, the federal fund- ing level for FY'05 was $150 million. For the last round of grants, ports received only about 8 percent of what they request- ed. "We hope the president's soon-to-be- released Fiscal Year 2006 proposed bud- get will provide more funding to protect our vital marine facilities," Nagle said.

Adequate protection for ports is essen- tial, both from an economic and a nation- al security perspective. Ports handle 95 percent of America's overseas cargoes and serve as departure points for an estimated 10 million cruise passengers annually.

They also enable deployment of U.S. mil- itary vessels, personnel and cargo to sup- port our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, while ensuring the ability of relief organi- zations to ship critical supplies to areas of the world hard hit by man-made and nat- ural disasters, such as the tsunami cata- strophe in Southeast Asia last week.

The port industry and port users gener- ate about 16 million jobs and handle more than $2 trillion worth of international trade annually, accounting for fully 27 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic

Product. "Because America's ports are our gate- ways to the world and a critical compo- nent in our nation's economic health and national defense, they need to be properly defended," Nagle said. "Paying for their security must be shared equitably. While ports are making progress in getting increased assistance for their security investments, vital port needs are still being overlooked and under funded."

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Criticism of Port Security Grant Program 'Misses the Mark'

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