July 13, 2004 12:00 noon

Good afternoon. I hope you enjoyed your lunch as I did. It is a pleasure to meet with the maritime community in this vibrant port city. I am honored to be your guest and to be here on behalf of President George W. Bush and Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta.

I wish to state at the outset, that the Department of Transportation and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) are working hand in hand with the Department of Homeland Security to provide the American Association of Port Authority (AAPA) with the commercial industry expertise to ensure that the flow of cargo meshes well with the vital requirements of security.

I am very pleased that the American Association of Port Authority is holding this important and timely Port Security Seminar. As I see it, there is no question about it: Port security plays a vital role in America’s continued economic growth and our ability to compete in an integrated, vibrant global market.

We are in Baltimore, which of course is close to our Nation’s Capital. Therefore, the Port of Baltimore is very critical to the security of our nation. In addition, on the economic front, this is a very busy port—it ranks first for the number of arrivals and departures of RoRos.

Of course, it isn’t just the Port of Baltimore, but all of our Nation’s ports that must focus on security in the post-9/11 environment. So let’s now look to U.S. port security and cargo issues and how the Maritime Administration (MARAD) is addressing these topics from a variety of fronts.

I imagine that most of you know about some of our efforts, especially those that have made recent headlines, but not many are aware of the extensive gains MARAD has made with port security education and training.

We are working collaboratively with other federal agencies, local governments, and private-sector stakeholders to facilitate maritime security training at every level of port operations. We helped develop maritime security standards and will soon have a maritime security course certification process in place to ensure that the training offered to our port and vessel personnel meets the high standards mandated in the Maritime Transportation Security Act.

This morning you heard a talk on education and training projects by Kelly Farrell, MARAD’s attorney advisor who discussed the educational security aspects on a national and international level.

Other speakers offered their perspectives on maritime security issues as well. We have come together to meet the challenges, and because in no transportation mode is the goal of combining security and efficiency more urgent or more massive an undertaking than in marine transportation.

As you may be aware, 37 percent of the value and 78 percent of the volume of all our nation’s foreign trade arrives by sea – and 97 percent of this waterborne trade is carried by foreign-flag vessels with foreign crews from almost every corner of the globe. More than seven million containers arrive in U.S. ports each year, and that number is growing rapidly as the economic recovery takes hold. The U.S. economy is now in its 10^th month of steady job creation, and because President Bush understands the global nature of the economy in the 21^st Century, he has made expanding trade a priority in his agenda for keeping America on track for a prosperous future.

So we face an immense security challenge. We must make seaborne trade and our ports as secure as possible to minimize the possibility of terrorists targeting waterborne trade. The potential impact of terrorist disruption in the maritime sphere, here at home and in the global economy, is greater than ever before.

Twenty years ago the global economy worked very differently than it does today. At that time, manufacturers and retailers kept warehouses full of inventory. Today, “just-in-time” assembly and delivery have replaced costly storage space. It’s more efficient, and it makes our transportation system an even more critical link in the commercial chain.

Our ports and intermodal connectors are facing a capacity crunch that must be addressed for our economy to remain efficient and competitive in the decades to come. For example, U.S. foreign trade and freight volumes at our ports are expected to increase by 50 percent by 2020. Yet America’s port and intermodal freight system is increasingly operating at the limits of its capacity.

Thus, our ports are being pulled two directions at the same time. And while the security needs of our ports can and must be addressed, the Bush Administration is pursuing solutions that allow us to address these security needs in ways that maintain – and even enhance – the efficiency and productivity of the Marine Transportation System.

With all this in mind, and to strengthen the marine mode as part of our national intermodal system, Secretary Mineta has initiated a broad review of our maritime policies. The objective of this review is a comprehensive Marine Transportation System/maritime industry initiative called SEA-21. It will fit with the reforms and initiatives that the Department of Transportation and the Bush Administration are already making in the other transportation modes.

The SEA-21 initiative we envision will complement these efforts and their emphasis on integration of all our transportation modes. One important aspect, included in the Administration’s SAFETEA proposal currently in conference, is investment in the critical “last mile” intermodal freight connections from our ports to our highways and railways. As part of this initiative, we also are working on improving information sharing and coordination of Federal government’s Marine Transportation System responsibilities.

The Maritime Administration is taking a similar comprehensive approach to maritime security. We are working in strong partnership with the Department of Homeland Security to implement the Maritime Transportation Security Act, signed by President Bush in November 2002. This act is one more important measure of the maritime industry’s vital importance to the economic and national security of the United States. It seeks to strengthen security at the nation's seaports by requiring comprehensive security plans for U.S. ports, and by mandating improved identification and screening of seaport personnel.

MARAD and DHS share a leadership role in the organization known as the “Container Working Group” (CWG). This group was charged with assessing and improving the security of container shipping, and their recommendations were provided to the Department of Homeland Security.

In addition to the Container Working Group, examples of meshing the primary mission of DOT with homeland security goals can be seen in the development of the Container Security Initiative (CSI), and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT).

DOT (through MARAD) and DHS are also working together on other security-related measures. These include the issuance and use of Transportation Security Cards for personnel and providing an enhanced system for foreign seafarer identification.

Additionally, we have established a program to make international intermodal transportation systems more secure by improving methods of cargo screening, tracking, physical security, and compliance monitoring.

U.S. seaports have already benefited from the more than 568 million dollars now available for the Port Security Grant Program. Grants are awarded to applicants who have demonstrated the willingness to explore the application of technologies to improve the security systems already in place at their port. Naturally, we are encouraged by how many ports have shown an interest in the Port Security Grant Program, including the Port of Baltimore, which was awarded nearly $14 million in grant money.

In addition to the Ports Security Grant Program, MARAD has developed an Inter-American Port Security Training Program. Nearly 300 port personnel have been trained in the Western Hemisphere through this program in the past few years. Helping to increase security at the ports of our Western Hemispheric trading partners enhances security at U.S. ports as well.

When it comes to maritime trade, we strongly believe that cargo security solutions must be global; in other words, our trading partners must be part of an integrated global cargo security system. That is why DOT and MARAD are helping to negotiate global solutions that will go a long way towards this objective of balancing efficiency and security.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of what we all must do to create a secure and efficient maritime transportation system. The fact that we are gathered here today at this seminar is in itself proof that you appreciate the urgency of this challenge.

I am confident that the United States will continue to achieve and maintain a high standard of living due to its ready access to the international market. As all of us know, port security plays a vital role in combining national security with our nation’s economic well-being.

I am proud to serve as the Maritime Administrator and to have worked in recent years to help find solutions to issues facing our nation’s ports. On behalf of the Bush Administration and Secretary Mineta, I want to again thank you for the privilege of speaking with you today.

Thank you.

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