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Atlantic Highlands, N.J. --- Standing on the docks of the Atlantic Highlands ferry terminal, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today called for increased federal funding for ferry security and a comprehensive plan from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to protect our nation's ferry system from terrorist attack.
"In light of the barbaric attacks on the London transit system, the United States needs to remain vigilant in our ability to prevent attacks on our nation," Pallone said. "Today, there is a serious security gap in our ferry systems and we need to ensure that passengers on our nation's waterways are protected."
The Department of Homeland Security currently has $150 million set aside for port security this year, in which only $5 million has been specified for ferry security. The majority of the ferry security funding has been allocated to major urban areas, leaving little to no funding for the comparatively smaller ferry terminals, like those in Central New Jersey.
Pallone said that the 1999 case of a suspected Al-Qaeda operative was caught trying to smuggle explosives into the U.S. by ferry from British Columbia, Canada to Port Angeles, Washington is a prime example of why ferry security should be given higher priority in the funding process.
"We don't need another wake-up call," Pallone said. "We need to find out what the real needs are for our ferry companies and then provide the necessary funds to properly protect the thousands of New Jersey residents who commute on these ferries everyday."
In a letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff earlier this week, Pallone called on the department to conduct a vulnerability assessment of current ferry systems and to provide a prioritized list of recommendations and cost analysis for securing the ferry system.
Pallone also requested that DHS develop a universal plan to help prevent and deter attacks on ferries and specified that any ferry security plan should include:
- More bomb-sniffing dogs to patrol ferry stations and on vessels
- A greater law enforcement presence at ferry stations and on vessels
- Expanding bomb detection technologies to be deployed at ferry stations and on vessels
- Random checks of commuters traveling via ferry
- Monitoring unattended or off duty vessels to ensure they are not tempered with.
Currently, ten to fifteen million commuters use the New York/New Jersey ferry systems each year, including over one million passengers who use the Atlantic Highlands, Highlands and South Amboy ferry stations.
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