Public to View Maritime Security Technology Oct. 20-21 at Long Beach Convention Center

LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 6 -- With a floor filled with the hottest in maritime security technology open to the public free of charge and a high-level conference featuring scores of public- and private-sector leaders, the Maritime Security Expo is slated to return Oct. 20-21 to the Long Beach Convention Center.

From high-tech devices and specially equipped surveillance vessels to leading-edge weaponry and diver and canine units, the Eight Annual Maritime Security Expo exhibit hall is to be brimming with the latest tools used to protect world ports and shipping lanes. The hall is to be open to the public at no charge Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A two-day conference schedule features discussions on such topics as the federal Transportation Worker Identification Credential, piracy, smuggling, cybersecurity, and gathering and sharing of intelligence. Speakers at opening sessions Tuesday are to include Richard D. Steinke, Port of Long Beach executive director, and Vice Admiral Robert Papp, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander, while Tuesday’s afternoon speakers are to include Matthew Bettenhausen, California Emergency Management Agency acting secretary. Wednesday’s program is scheduled to open with an address from John Porcari, U.S. Department of Transportation deputy secretary.

The Tuesday agenda also features several free exhibit hall seminars, plus an All-Hazards Forum, developed in cooperation with the International Association of Emergency Managers-USA Region 9, the California Emergency Services Association and others. The forum is to address issues related to fires, floods, earthquakes, storms and other natural disasters.

The Maritime Security Expo, titled “Weathering the Perfect Storm: Faltering Economies, Piracy, Climate Change and Maritime Security Regulations,” is anticipated to draw more than 800 attendees from throughout the world. It is being co-hosted by the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles and presented in association with U.S. Maritime Administration, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, California Maritime Academy, Propeller Club of Los Angeles-Long Beach, Foreign Trade Association of Southern California and others.

The Maritime Security Expo was first held in Long Beach Nov. 18-19, 2008, after six years in New York. The waterfront Long Beach Convention Center neighbors the busiest U.S. containerport complex.

A full agenda and additional information may be found at www.maritimesecurityexpo.com



CONTACT: Paul Scott Abbott. cell +1-305-469-5276, e-mail paulscottabbott@windstream.net, for Maritime Security Expo