Advocacy

During the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development (FSTED) Council meeting on September 5 in St. Petersburg, the Council approved the allocation of $1 million for seaport security projects at 10 seaports. These projects represent almost $2.5 million in requests from Florida seaports, and include security measures to provide access control, cameras, and vehicle mitigation barriers at several seaports.

These allocations were recommended by the FSTED Council Seaport Security Advisory Committee, which continues to meet several times a year to discuss ongoing security issues, hurricane resiliency and response, and other relevant security issues facing Florida seaports.

The Committee was formally created by the Florida Legislature in 2016 to provide a forum for discussion of seaport security issues, including, but not limited to, matters such as national and state security strategy and policy, actions required to meet current and future security threats, statewide cooperation on security issues, and security concerns of the state’s maritime industry. The Committee also reviews applications for the State Seaport Security Grant Program and makes recommendations to the full FSTED Council for grant approvals.

The Committee is comprised of representatives from all of Florida’s seaports, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Committee also has two representatives from local law enforcement agencies – Chief Franklin Roig, Chief of Seaport Operations Bureau PortMiami, recently joined the Committee as one of the two representatives. Chief Roig brings a wealth of knowledge and professionalism to the group, and will provide the members additional experience on operations around the state to secure Florida’s borders.