The Port of New Orleans, La., (Port NOLA) will use a $1,040,583 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant to make physical and technology upgrades that will improve the Harbor Police Department’s surveillance network and to purchase equipment that will aid in emergency response. Work must be completed by Aug. 31, 2027.
The grant is part of FEMA’s 2024 Port Security Grant Program, which awarded $90 million to agencies to help protect port infrastructure from terrorism, major disasters, or other emergencies, Port NOLA reported Oct. 10.
Port NOLA has secured $2,502,827 in FEMA funding over the past three years to strengthen its security and emergency response capabilities, it said. In 2023, the port received $947,280 to upgrade its Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which serves as the command hub during hurricanes and other major incidents, and in 2022, it was awarded $514,964 to improve technology at the Maritime Security Operations Center (MSOC) of the Harbor Police Department, which provides law enforcement, safety, and security throughout port property and waterways within the port’s three-parish jurisdiction of Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard Parish.
“We are grateful to FEMA for their ongoing support, which will continue to bolster our proactive security initiatives,” said Ronald Wendel Jr., acting President and CEO of Port NOLA and acting CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB), a Class III that connects with the six Class I’s (BNSF, CN, CSX, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific) and serves Port NOLA and local businesses. “The safety of our community and the protection of critical infrastructure remain top priorities, and this is a significant step forward in safeguarding our port operations and the people who depend on them.”
Separately, last month TCI Tank Logistics announced that it will invest $2 million to “expand its intermodal footprint and ease supply chains” by adding 1,200 linear feet of new rail that will tie into NOPB and service customers at Port NOLA; and in August, NOPB announced significant progress on two infrastructure enhancement projects—the Transloading Industrial Park and the Claiborne Yard expansion.
