US ports have no joint spill and terrorist response plans
According to a new US GAO ports report, plans for responding to spills and terrorist threats are generally separate from each other, and ports have rarely exercised these plans simultaneously to see if they work effectively together
Second, ports generally lack plans for dealing with economic issues, such as prioritizing the movement of vessels after a port reopens. The US President's maritime security strategy calls for such plans. Third, some ports report difficulty in securing response resources to carry out planned actions.
Federal port security grants have generally been directed at preventing attacks, not responding to them, but a more comprehensive risk-based approach is being developed. Decisions about the need for more response capabilities are hindered, however, by a lack of performance measures tying resource needs to effectiveness in response.
