Report: Thousands of ships, most U.S. ports fail to submit security plans

Report: Thousands of ships, most U.S. ports fail to submit security plans    Nearly half of ships and about four out of every five of the United States’ port facilities failed to submit their security plans to the U.S. Coast Guard by Dec. 31, despite the prospect of fines, according to a report by Associated Press.
   The deadline for submitting the plans was met by about 5,200 of 10,000 ships told to submit them and 1,100 of 5,000 port facilities, the report said.
   The U.S. Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and related implementing regulations require the completion of security assessments, the development of security plans, and implementation of security measures and procedures, to reduce the risk of terrorist activity in the United States.
   “We do not have all the plans… We recognize that despite our best efforts, there are those who won’t comply for a variety of reasons,” AP quoted Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Carter as saying.