Port of Long Beach Awarded FEMA Security Grants

The Port of Long Beach’s Security Division has been awarded $3.4 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants to fund ongoing projects that protect the port.

The grants will enhance port security systems such as physical security equipment and monitoring and detection systems, including the Virtual Port System, and improve the resiliency of port security systems, the port said.

“Protecting workers and the community, as well as ensuring business continuity, are top priorities at the Port of Long Beach,” said Lori Ann Guzmán, President of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. “FEMA’s grant money will help us carry out important security projects and enhance our abilities to work with our security partners at the port.”

FEMA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, offers grants for port security initiatives, and recipients like the Port of Long Beach must provide at least 25 percent of the cost of the project.

Long Beach serves as a gateway for trans-Pacific trade, with 175 shipping lines connecting the port to 217 others. About 1.4 million jobs across the U.S. are sustained by trade flow through the Port of Long Beach, which handles $180 billion in trade annually, according to the port. To safeguard this valuable economic resource, the port’s security operations have been greatly enhanced by $136 million in grants received since September 11, 2001.

The Long Beach Harbor Department’s Security Division partners with local, state and federal law enforcement and security and emergency-response agencies including the Long Beach Police and Fire departments, FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard.