Port Access

USCG Conducts Port Access Routes Study

The U.S. Coast Guard has initiated a Port Access Routes Study to evaluate the continued applicability of and the need for modifications to current vessel routing measures or the creation of new vessel routing measures in the approaches to Chesapeake Bay, Va.

AAPA: Study Proves Need For Improvement

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) welcomed the recent release of the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) "Report to Congress on National Highway System (NHS) Intermodal Freight Connectors." The report, requested by Congress under the provisions of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), reviews connectors to seaports, airports, and major intermodal terminals to determine: (1) their condition; (2) improvements or investments made or planned; and

Austal Commences JHSV Construction

Austal has received authorization from the U.S. Navy to commence construction on the first of up to ten 338-ft Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV). After Austal successfully completed the Production Readiness Review (PRR) and necessary DoD approvals were obtained, the Navy authorized Austal’s Mobile, Ala. facility to immediately begin construction of Fortitude (JHSV 1). As the US Department of Defense’s next generation multi-use platform

Austal Awarded Contract for JHSV 4 & 5

Austal received word to move forward with the construction contract for the fourth and fifth vessels of the U.S. Department of Defense’s next generation multi-use platform, the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), as part of a program potentially worth over $1.6b. Austal received funding previously from the Navy, valued at $99,557,548, to acquire long lead-time material, to include diesel engines, water jets and reduction gears, for these two vessels in June 2010

Austal Lays Keel for Second JHSV

Three Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) currently under construction. On November 8, 2011, Austal held a keel-laying ceremony for its second Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), Choctaw County (JHSV 2), one of seven Austal-designed 103-meter U.S. Navy Joint High Speed Vessels under contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. Captain Henry W. Stevens, III (USN), Strategic and Theater Sealift Program Manager, PMS 385, served as the Authenticator for today’s ceremony

Austal-built JHSV 2 Completes Navy Acceptance Trials

Joint High Speed Vessel 'USNS Choctaw County' (JHSV 2) has successfully completed Acceptance Trials in the Gulf of Mexico. This milestone achievement involved the performance of intense comprehensive tests by the Navy while underway, which demonstrated the successful operation of the ship’s major systems and equipment.  It was the last significant milestone before delivery of the ship, which is expected in June. 

Port of Wilmington Installs Surveillance System

Port of Wilmington, Del. has deployed VistaScape's SiteIQ software to automate surveillance, enforce port security policy, and increase the effectiveness of its security staff in responding to and preventing violations. The selection of SiteIQ further extends VistaScape's market leadership in the maritime sector for software-based intelligent surveillance systems. SiteIQ is part of an overall security upgrade for the Port funded through $1

GDS Contracts To Deploy Lightning Access System

General Defense Systems, Inc. has secured a contract to deploy the General Defense Systems (GDS) Lightning Access System, designed to improve information access for security systems at U.S. ports, including shipping container X-ray inspection systems. The first of these systems is to be deployed at the Port of Miami, offering a wireless broadband connection to the facility's existing X-ray container inspection system and providing real-time access to video cameras mounted on the X-ray system

Port Workers Begin Enrollment for Port Security Credential

Port workers, longshore workers, truckers and others at the Port of Huntington/Tri-State will begin to enroll in the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The program's goal is to ensure that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a security threat. Nationwide

Seafarers’ Center Grand Reopening

On May 17, 2011, the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) hosts the Grand Reopening of its International Seafarers’ Center in Port Newark, NJ. SCI undertook a major renovation of the Center, completing construction late last year, to establish a first-rate facility for the global shipping industry working in the Port of New York and New Jersey, the East Coast’s largest port. “The welfare of international trade in the Port of New York and New Jersey hinges on this Center