Joe Riccio
203-384-9777

Immediate

Washington, D.C. - The Bridgeport Port Authority will receive a $1.378 million Port Security grant from the Department of Homeland Security, Governor Jodi Rell, Senators Chris Dodd and Joseph Lieberman and Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT) announced today.  The grant will support improvised explosive device (IED) detection in the Port of Bridgeport, which is home to a number of types of facilities targeted for increased protection under the Maritime Transportation Security Act, including cargo terminals, oil depots, a power plant, and one of the busiest car ferries in the country.

 

"This money is absolutely essential to maintaining the safety and security of our state and its people," Governor Rell said. "In addition to being a major ferry terminal moving thousands of people and vehicles, Bridgeport is a major center for the importation of perishable goods.  This is welcome news."

 

"Connecticut's ports play an important role in our economy.  We simply can't afford to leave them vulnerable to a terrorist attack," said Dodd. "It's essential that ports like Bridgeport have the funding in place to not only protect our ports but the communities that surround them.  More must be done to ensure that ports across the country have the tools and resources they need to safeguard our nation from the threat of terrorism."

 

"This is welcome news for Bridgeport and all Connecticut commuters who take the ferry to and from New York," Lieberman said. "This grant allows Bridgeport to acquire and deploy cutting edge equipment - like an underwater camera and sonar systems - designed to protect the passengers, ferries and the port from improvised explosives devices (IED's), and will help ensure that our ferry system remains a safe and reliable means of travel."

 

"Our waterways are crucial to the economy in our region, so we need to take every step to keep them secure," Shays said.  "This grant will go a long way to help the Bridgeport Port Authority improve their surveillance and detection capabilities to help keep the port safe."

 

 "Bridgeport's harbor is integrally connected to key transportation infrastructure - the port, train, bus, and highways all converge in this central area, therefore protecting the port becomes even more essential," explained Bridgeport Mayor John M. Fabrizi.  "Once again, our federal delegation has done an outstanding job of securing much needed Homeland Security funds to protect these regional assets."

 

"Since its inception, the Port Authority has striven to make the Water Street Dock and Ferry Terminal a safe, comfortable, pleasant environment for the ferry passenger," said Joseph A. Riccio, Executive Director of the Bridgeport Port Authority.  "Since 9/11 the emphasis has been on security and making sure it's truly a secure terminal facility.  With this grant, we can minimize the security risks that face us in our post-9/11 world by detecting and reacting to any threats to the facility and passengers."

 

The funding will support the purchase of an underwater IED detection unit; chemical, biological, radiological and explosive trace detection and portal; under-carriage vehicle inspection equipment, sonar to detect underwater threats; thermal imaging equipment to detect small-craft IED threats in the dark; and two-way radio trunking system equipment.

 

Bridgeport was one of 36 communities from across the nation chosen to receive a Port Security grant in the fifth round of awards under the Port Security Grant Program.  The Department of Homeland Security distributed $141,969,967.61 in grants this round.

 

Recipients were selected through a competitive peer review process using a new risk-based formula weighing threat, vulnerability and consequence. In order to receive funding, eligible port terminals must have submitted an application that met grant guidelines, and requested funding for eligible projects - especially projects addressing our national port security priorities.  All applications were reviewed by the local United States Coast Guard (USCG) port captains and scored on uniform rating criteria.