On March 12, 2002, the Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs, and International Relations of the House Committee on Government
Reform conducted a hearing on Combating Terrorism: Protecting the United States. In a news release, issued prior to the hearing, the Subcommittee noted that the purpose of the hearing is to assess progress to date, near-term challenges, and long-term goals of certain efforts to protect the United States from terrorist attacks. With regard to port security, the Subcommittee noted that, in the Port of New York alone, 10,000 ships and 3 million containers arrived in the year 2001. The General Accounting Office presented Testimony at the hearing noting, among other things, that the Coast Guard is developing three new maritime security levels and has instituted its 'Sea Marshal' program to improve port security.
Source: HK Law