New York Port Director Calls Trucker ID Crucial

WASHINGTON — An official of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey said that even though much of the new attention to port security has focused on containers coming off ships, keeping a close eye on truckers hauling those containers is also important.

“The biggest threat comes from someone trying to sneak a weapon” into maritime cargo, but “we have to know who is picking up a container and make sure they are who they say they are,” Director of the Port Commerce Department Richard M. Larrabee said in an interview after a Senate hearing here on transportation appropriations issues.

The Port of New York and New Jersey is the third largest in the nation and handles more than 3 million containers a year, 87% of which are hauled away by truck.

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