Long Beach port awarded $2.72 million grant to enhance security

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $2.72 million grant to the Port of Long Beach to enhance security in ways that help ensure safe and efficient movement of cargo in the wake of an emergency.

As a recipient of the department's Port Security Grant Program, the port will use the funding to modernize its core security network, strengthen existing security systems and enhance resiliency and business continuity in the event of a disaster, port officials said in a press release.

The grant will fund improvements to the port’s ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from large-scale emergencies. The federal dollars will be divided across four projects:

• maintenance for closed-circuit television and wireless security systems, including more than 750 cameras keeping watch across the port;

• support for existing security access control systems and information-sharing platforms connecting commercial agencies and law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local levels;

• expansion of a cloud-based resiliency network in the event of terrorism, cybersecurity attack, natural disaster or other emergency outages; and

• modernization of the port's core security network to protect systems monitored by security headquarters, the Joint Command and Control Center.

Pacific Harbor Line Inc. provides rail transportation, maintenance and dispatching services at the port.