Homeland Security gives Port of Galveston more than $1M in security grants

The Port of Galveston this week announced it has received over $1 million in federal grants that will be used for security improvements, including surveillance of its cruise and cargo terminals and installing 'smart padlocks' throughout the port.

Totaling roughly $1.18 million, the four grants are part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Port Security Grant Program. The port will chip in 25 percent of its own funds (or roughly $393,000) for each project.

"As the Port of Galveston grows, we continue to enhance our security systems to ensure that port facilities, tenants and guests are protected," Galveston Wharves port director and CEO Rodger Rees said in a news release .

The largest FEMA grant, just over $600,000, will fund cybersecurity updates and maintenance for the port's security systems. The issue has been prominent recently after the IT systems of two Texas-bound energy tankers were reportedly attacked near the Strait of Gibraltar. Multiple reports claimed one was headed for Galveston, but the port said it wasn't.

Last month, Texas Railroad Commission member Wayne Christian called the state's energy infrastructure "a prime target for foreign adversaries." (Despite its name, the Railroad Commission primarily regulates the state's $385 billion energy industry.)

FEMA also provided the port with nearly $400,000 for a video surveillance system covering its cruise and cargo terminal access roads. This includes the 1,400-foot berth at piers 39 and 40 that opened in July as part of the port's $106 million expansion of its cargo facilities. A Wallenius Wilhelmsen freighter carrying heavy construction equipment from Brazil and the Far East was the new terminal's first delivery.

The other two grants are nearly $90,000 to replace mechanical locks at the port with so-called 'smart padlocks'-"to enhance accountability through digital tracking, controlled key issuance and audit trails," according to the port-and $118,000 and change for a portable means of protecting critical infrastructure and public gatherings during periods of restricted vehicle access. The port calls this a "Mobile Anti-Ram Barrier System."

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