Nearly $1.1 million in federal funding is being sought for security enhancements at ports in Port Angeles and Neah Bay.
The Port of Port Angeles, the Makah tribe and the state Department of Ecology have filed a port security grant application with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Port of Port Angeles Executive Director Clyde Boddy said Monday.
The application seeks funding to add port security duty to the Neah Bay rescue tugboat’s role at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
If approved, the grant would also mean some federal funding to compliment the state’s current funding of $1.4 million for the tug during its deployment next winter, according to the application.
Dock improvements, including security cameras, fencing and mooring dolphins, would be added in Port Angeles, Boddy said.
Installation of mooring dolphins and electrical upgrades at Makah Marina in Neah Bay would allow larger ships to dock there, the application says.
Four Navy stations, five crude oil refiners and six major commercial ports exist along the Strait, Puget Sound and Hood Canal.
Nearly 10,000 vessels traversed the Strait last year to these locations.
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