Los Angeles Launches WMD Screening Ship

Photo: Shipping containers fill a section of the Port of Los Angeles.
Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

From Global Security Newswire:

A ship carrying equipment and personnel to screen the cargo of vessels entering the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports for materials that could be used in a weapon of mass destruction was launched earlier this week, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said (see GSN, Jan. 29).

The $3 million ship is manned by explosives experts and outfitted with WMD detection equipment. Vessels would have their cargo checked prior to coming into the United States' most trafficked port complex, the Associated Press reported. Vessels undergo additional screening once they arrive at the port.

Read more ....

My Comment: After years of discussion and debate .... we now have this extra level of security.

Will it be successful? Considering the scope of trade and container traffic, it will probably be something like finding a needle in a haystack. Lets hope that the tech on this ship will make the odds favor us for a change.