Oversight Hearing Reveals Vulnerabilities of Port of Houston, Nation's Energy Supply to Terrorist Attack

HOUSTON, TX – The port that brings in one-quarter of America's oil, half of its refined products and one-eighth of the gasoline consumed is vulnerable to the type of terrorist attack that al Qaeda plots to carry out, despite unprecedented security measures.

Wednesday's Homeland Security Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee field hearing laid out the threat based on information obtained from Osama Bin Laden’s compound which confirmed oil tankers as a potential target that would cause economic devastation to the United States. Each day 25-30 tankers transit the Houston Ship Channel.

"We know from the (bin Laden) documents they want to go back to their playbook of attacking tankers," said Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), who chaired the hearing at the Port of Houston Authority. "This is the kind of scenario we want to prevent and that is the purpose of the hearing today."

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on terrorist attacks targeting energy tankers states the supply chain faces three types of threats: suicide attacks with explosive-laden boats, similar to the one used against the USS Cole in the Gulf of Aden; standoff attacks with weapons launched from a distance, such as rocket propelled grenades; and an armed assault, as used by pirates off the coast of Africa. A successful attack could cripple the nation's energy supply.

"You don't have to blow up an Exxon (refinery along the Ship Channel). You can shut down access to the waterway and shut down refining capability," testified James Edmonds, Chairman of the Port of Houston Authority. "There are all kinds of arteries of movement and if you (stop) any one of these it's a devastating economic impact. It could sure happen and it could happen quickly and easily."

"What makes us unique in Houston is refineries," Capt (RET) Bill Diehl, President of the Greater Houston Port Bureau, testified. "You can shut down a container port and move up the coast to the next one. You can't package up a refinery. You can't take those pipelines and pull them out of the ground and ship them to New Orleans."

Security along the Houston Ship Channel is considered a model for other ports in the nation, in large part because of the Port of Houston's unique partnership with industry. Private sector stakeholders have ensured that limited federal grant dollars and their own security budgets are spent efficiently on projects that are needed most. This comprehensive approach involving industry has moved Houston to the second largest recipient of DHS Port Security Grants.

Priorities revealed during the hearing include dredging the Houston Ship Channel. Presently at 45 feet deep, it needs to reach 50 feet by 2014 to accommodate larger ships that will begin to traverse the Panama Canal. Last year the Port of Houston sent $125 million to the federal Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. However, the Obama administration proposes returning only $23 million to the Houston Ship Channel, well short of the $88 million recommended by the Army Corps of Engineers to help pay for dredging. Another priority is to speed up the grant process which currently moves too slow to give ports a timely funding source for projects.

Following the hearing, as part of his oversight duties, Chairman McCaul toured the Ship Channel to assess security operations with the U.S. Coast Guard, Harris County Sheriffs Deputies, port and industry representatives.

# # #