Security: Hueneme

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Hueneme Regional Port Security Exercise and Ribbon Cutting

The Port of Hueneme joined more than 90 local, state, and federal emergency response agencies in the annual Coastal Trident Regional Maritime Security and Response Exercise.

The exercise, which ran from June 16 to June 19, included military and local emergency response resources in a variety of air, land, and sea operations as well as a number of technologies related to maritime operations. The exercise activities are designed to test response plans, processes and systems, along with command and control procedures.

Activities on June 18 included the port's first port security exhibition, a full scale exercise and a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the more than over $12 million in state proposition 1b funds and Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) grants that have brought security technologies to the Port of Hueneme and its law enforcement partners.

Priority projects include new cameras, surveillance technologies and infrastructure for the port, a canine unit, a computer aided dispatch system and fiber optic connectivity for the City of Port Hueneme, a helicopter imager for the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, and risk management plans for the Oxnard and Ventura County fire departments. All 90 participating agencies benefit from the security training and exercises.

Additionally, the port in collaboration with the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Asymmetric Warfare (CAW), the County of Ventura and the Economic Development Collaborative – Ventura County (EDC-VC), hosted the Maritime Advanced Systems and Technologies (MAST) Exposition. More than 80 individuals registered and participated in the event.

"The Port of Hueneme and Ventura County are becoming the "go-to" headquarters for emerging port security technologies," said Port CEO and Executive Director Kristin Decas. "This is a great tribute to the hard work of the port crew, CAW, EDC-VC, and all our local, state and federal law enforcement. A job well done."

A list of all of the Port Security projects funded with state and federal grant money is available here.

Hueneme Port CEO Kristin Decas and Capt. Jennifer Williams, the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of Port, kick off Coastal Trident 2014 on June 16.
Photo/Port of Hueneme