The Ports Safety and Security Department includes sworn police officers and security officers on duty round the clock every day of the year at the Port of Morehead City and the Port of Wilmington, as well as technical and safety specialists. They work closely with police and sheriff's offices and county emergency managers in Port areas, as well as with state law-enforcement and emergency-management agencies and federal agencies including Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, the FBI, and military security agencies.
Port security has always been important to the North Carolina State Ports Authority, with increased emphasis here and from the regional, state and national levels since Sept. 11, 2001. Since the federal Port Security Grant program began in 2002, the Ports have received nearly $10 million in grants and invested millions more to assess security and upgrade capabilities.
Improvements already installed include perimeter upgrades with fencing, lighting and cameras, underwater surveillance capabilities, extensive communications and interoperability improvements, explosive detection equipment, and water patrol craft. Under way in 2008 is a first-in-the-nation areawide security assessment, including the proposed North Carolina International Terminal on the west bank of the Cape Fear River in Brunswick County and its neighbors: the Progress Energy Brunswick Nuclear Plant, the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, and other government and commercial interests.
North Carolina State Ports Authority partners and customers who participate in the Homeland Security Department’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program have a closed loop of security certification. The Authority’s Ports in Morehead City and Wilmington and the Charlotte Inland Terminal received C-TPAT certification in 2007, and were revalidated in 2008. The C-TPAT program examines each link in the supply chain to ensure the security of cargo entering the United States. Steamship lines, overseas suppliers and ports, and other participants in the shipping process are examined for adherence to program requirements, administered by Customs and Border Protection.
C-TPAT Details
C-TPAT Website
