I think we all agree that nothing has been a more important issue in our nation than homeland security.

The tragic events of 9/11 revealed our vulnerabilities, from breaches in air travel to those in cyberspace. Local, state and federal agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations, have worked diligently to minimize those weaknesses and close the gaps exploited by our adversaries. One crucial gap is the maritime environment.

The well-oiled machine that is maritime commerce is something we fail to think about on a regular basis: how those goods we count on every day seamlessly maneuver around the globe to their final destination or how devastating it would be to the global economy were there ever an incident on trade channels and/or installations.

Half of U.S. exports and one quarter of the petroleum imports pass through the lower 255 miles of the Mississippi River, one of the largest port systems in the world. In total, the five lower Mississippi River deep water ports (the Port of South Louisiana, Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Port of New Orleans, Plaquemines Port, Harbor, and Terminal District, and St. Bernard Port, Harbor, and Terminal district) handle more than 474 million short tons of cargo annually that includes grain (esp. corn and soybean), crude oil, petroleum products, perishables, steel and ores.

Inter-agency communication was a key issue that needed to be addressed. With the aid of grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LA DOTD), the Port of South Louisiana joined forces with the four other lower Mississippi River deep-water ports to establish a security network throughout the lower Mississippi River.

In 2013, the Port of South Louisiana revealed its Maritime Security Operations Center (MSOC), located at Globalplex Intermodal Terminal. Established as a command and control center to manage emergencies within the Port of South Louisiana’s jurisdiction, the MSOC is a 2,000 square-feet hardened concrete and steel building with impact-resistant glass, built to withstand 150 mile-per-hour winds.

Equipped with the latest in communications and surveillance equipment, it is linked to the MSOCs of the other four deep-water ports, as well as federal, state and local emergency response agencies. The $1.2 million project was funded in part by $965,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Louisiana’s Department of Transportation and Development provided funding for the remainder.

Additionally, the MSOC’s are supported by waterborne and landside assets such as multi-mission vessels with patrol, fire-fighting and search and rescue capabilities. Port of South Louisiana’s vessel assets include two fast-response vessels and a fire boat strategically located within the Port’s jurisdiction, and a fast response rigid hull inflatable boat that can be quickly deployed in the lakes and bayous around the River Region.

Through Cooperative Endeavor Agreements with local, state and federal agencies, the port is prepared to respond to any maritime related incident within the River Parishes. When requested by other agencies, the port will provides its emergency and security resources outside its jurisdiction if operations permit without jeopardizing its mission within its area of responsibility.

The establishment of MSOCs at the five lower Mississippi River deep-water ports is a network system that gives full maritime domain awareness over the Mississippi River. It is a linked system of communications with sensors that can promptly expose an incident on the nation’s most vital natural transportation resource.

It facilitates and improves response time to maritime incidents as well helps as protecting people, property and the environment of this most important economically-vibrant region.

Mitch Smith is Port of South Louisiana’s director of operations. He can be contacts at msmith@portsl.com.