Towing Vessel Inspection Proposal Advances
A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 30 that encompasses the policy provisions of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 legislative package, including a proposal that would establish a new inspection program for the towing industry. The bill, entitled the Maritime Transportation Amendments of 2004 (H.R. 4251), was quickly slated for action. On May 6, the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, chaired by Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), convened a hearing on the authorization measure. During his opening remarks, Chairman LoBiondo stated, “Since the establishment of the Coast Guard, one of the Service’s primary duties has been to promote and protect the safety of life and property at sea. H.R.
Port of Beaumont to Install of Homeland Defense System
e-Smart Technologies, Inc. announced that its Homeland Defense, Inc., affiliate has reached an agreement with the Port of Beaumont to install the Company's Biometric Verification - Homeland Defense System (BV-HDS(tm)) together with a number of the Company's subsystems including but not limited to the Super Smart Card(tm) identity verification and sure credentialing subsystem, the Robotic Eye(tm) video surveillance and emergency response subsystem and the AutoTrafficCop(tm) port protection subsystem. This agreement is the result of the port security concerns expressed by Texas Congressman Nick Lampson (D - Beaumont) and the cooperation of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of Beaumont as represented by its Executive Director, Chris Fisher, and the diligent work of Ms.
