BWI Airport, Port of Baltimore Win Awards for Security

Years of improvements at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and the Port of Baltimore have won the pair recognition from a magazine covering Homeland Security.

Government Security News selected the two facilities for its 2014 Airport/Seaport/Border Security Awards Program, according to a statement from Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.

“This award is ... a major accomplishment for the state and the people we serve and protect daily,” O’Malley said.

At BWI, a $5.2 million information technology project won accolades in the large airports category.

The airport completed its Consolidated Dispatch Center Upgrades Project in 2013. It included creating a backup dispatch center; implementing a fire station alerting system; installing mobile dispatch equipment in vehicles of first responders; rolling out an automated dispatch system and emergency call processing system; and creating a BWI facilities map with GPS tracking of emergency apparatus, the statement from O’Malley said.

The Consolidated Dispatch Center Upgrades Project was named Most Notable Airport Security Program in the large airports category and Best Physical Security Information Management System, according to the statement.

“This highly successful project provided our security and public safety personnel with cutting-edge emergency response technology,” Chief Executive Officer of BWI Marshall Paul J. Wiedefeld said. He added that the project “increased responsiveness and situational awareness” and “we are honored by the recognition from Government Security News.”

The Port of Baltimore also received a first-place honor from the publication: Most Notable Seaport Security Program.

Among the security enhancements at the port: an system that can detect underwater attempts to attack ships; closed-circuit TV showing public marine terminals; remote-controlled submersible vehicle that secures the port’s public marine terminals and can detect Improvised Explosive Devices on ships; and an automated preregistration system for truckers arriving at terminal, the statement said.

“Through the help of our federal, state and local security partners, the Port of Baltimore today has a network of comprehensive security initiatives in place that [begins] well before any cargo arrives, continues through its time at our port and [proceeds] right through the time it leaves our port for worldwide destinations,” Maryland Port Administration Executive Director James J. White said.

“I want to congratulate BWI Marshall and the Port of Baltimore on this impressive recognition,” O’Malley said. “Their efforts to respond to our state’s growing security needs is unmatched.”