AAPR: $4B for U.S. ports' upgrades

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has identified about $4B in crucial port and supply chain security needs to better meet security infrastructure of commercial seaports and related maritime operations over the next decade. It’s that amount of funding needed to maintain and upgrade U.S. port facilities and ensure they are equipped handle evolving security challenges, according to AAPA’s latest report in its “The State of Freight” infrastructure series. It’s the fourth report in the series designed to highlight needs of America’s deep-draft commercial public ports. The report recommends refocusing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) to better meet those needs of commercial seaports and maritime operations, which includes an estimated $2.62B in maintenance upgrades to port security equipment, and systems; $1.27B more for investments to tackle cybersecurity, active shooter, drone mitigation, resiliency and other evolving security threats. The U.S. government invests $100M a year in its PSGP to protect resources that account for more than a 25 percent of the U.S. economy. (Source: Marine Link 01/28/19)