Kurt J. Nagle, president and CEO of the
American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), testified on seaport security before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on
Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. On the issue of the proposed
acquisition of P&O Ports by DP World, Nagle indicated that in reviewing
a transaction of this type, “it is the appropriate role of the federal
government to determine if there are national security concerns with any
proposed business arrangement involving non-U.S. interests, whether that
involves port operations or any other business.”
Nagle urged Congress to allow the current 45-day investigation of the
transaction to run its course “prior to taking any action either on this
proposed arrangement, or on any blanket prohibition against a foreign
government affiliated company from providing terminal operating services at
U.S. ports.” He also noted that, with regard to individual business
arrangements, “Public port authorities often have leases with terminal
operating companies to operate port-owned facilities. Those leases typically
provide that any assignment of a lease to a successor company, in the event
of a merger or acquisition, must be approved by the port authority. Leases
generally cannot be transferred or assigned without permission.”
On other port security issues, Nagle said that while the federal Port
Security Grant program has provided much-needed assistance to pay for
seaport facility security, it still had several problems, including (1) an
inadequate amount of Congressional appropriations; (2) limits on
eligibility; (3) the port industry’s concern about the Administration’s
proposals to lump port security into the larger Transportation
Infrastructure Protection program (TIP); and (4) the slow release of the
federal funds. “Limited port security funds have placed burdens on ports as
security programs compete with general maintenance of facilities, channel
dredging or
port expansion projects,” said Nagle. “The biggest impact of
these limited funds, however, is a delay in making security enhancements.
Limited funds means slower progress.”
Nagle’s testimony, available on-line
here,
also stressed the
need for quicker implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification
Credential (TWIC), as well as the need to ensure that adequate resources are
available for federal agencies with responsibility for port security,
particularly the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection.