Marine Operations

The protection of assets along the Mississippi River is of critical importance to the Port of South Louisiana, striving to enhance service as federal funding becomes available and through partnerships in its district.

The Port of South Louisiana has a 24-hour/7 days-a-week emergency response division, with an array of firefighting and safety equipment. The PSL Responder, the newest vessel in the fleet, honored by WorkBoat magazine as one of its "10 Significant Boats of 2007," is outfitted with the latest in communications and surveillance equipment.

The Port of South Louisiana has joined forces with the four other lower Mississippi River deep water ports (Greater Baton Rouge, New Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines) to establish a security network throughout the lower 255 miles of the Mississippi River. Nearly half of U.S. exports and one quarter of U.S. petroleum imports pass through this port complex. Therefore, the goal of the Lower Mississippi Port-Wide Security Council (LMPWSSC) is to protect current and future facilities to insure trade and make this corridor the safest and most protected maritime complex in the world.

In order to meet this goal, the LMPWSSC is continuously seeking funding from the Department of Homeland Security's Port Security grant program and other state matching funds to secure the necessary equipment (e.g., communications, surveillance, etc.) and training to establish a cohesive security layer with common practices and equipment across these ports. Therefore, in the event of a natural disaster or a security threat, any one of the five ports could move its operations to a regional partner's command and control system with minimal interruption in security operations.