PORT TO USE PORTABLE SCANNING UNIT.Byline: ART MARROQUIN Staff Writer An X-ray unit x-ray unit, n See unit, radiographic. capable of detecting dangerous devices will scan goods loaded onto passenger cruise ships This is a list of cruise ships, both those in service and those that have since ceased to operate. Both cruise ships and cruiseferries are included in this list. (Ocean liners are not included on this list, see List of ocean liners. passing in and out of the Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately 20 miles (30 km) south of downtown. Also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT LA beginning next year under a plan approved Thursday night by the harbor commission. The panel agreed to buy the $1.88 million mobile scanning unit created by Beijing-based Nuctech Inc. with funds received from the federal Port Security Grant Program, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a port report. The Port of Los Angeles is among the first municipal agencies to purchase the security system to specifically examine goods loaded onto passenger cruises, according to John Holmes, director of port operations. U.S. Customs and Border Protection U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a bureau of the United States Department of Homeland Security, is charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. trade laws. agents already use the high-tech scanners to peek inside cargo containers entering the port, which served about 1.2 million cruise line A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the passengers last year. "We will clearly know when something is in there that shouldn't be," Holmes said. "It's not a silver bullet silver bullet - magic bullet , but it's definitely a great tool." Police and bomb-sniffing canines currently inspect trucks carrying food and supplies to the three cruise lines based at the Port of Los Angeles, but the process is not very efficient and can often be time-consuming, Holmes said. "Cruise ships are like a floating city, and when you have a large cruise operation like we do, you have to make passengers, vendors, employees, everyone feel safe," Holmes said. "This machine is going to make the inspection process much easier because it takes a very detailed picture of what's inside a truck or container." If needed, the mobile scanning system will be hauled to large events and awards shows held in other areas of Los Angeles, Holmes said. The X-ray system will be installed on a large American-made truck powered by a diesel engine meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's emissions standards for 2007, according to Holmes. "We could be getting this system sooner, but there's a backlog of these low-emission trucks right now," Holmes said. "But it will be worth the wait." art.marroquin(at)dailybreeze.com |
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