Port Police Chief Jordan Lee Kosam said this is their first concern every time a ship, especially a passenger or cruise ship, docks at the port, or when a plane lands at the airport.
“When a ship is scheduled to dock at the port, we are already up and ready very early, long before its estimated arrival time to secure the area and see to it that everything is ready for the ship’s arrival,” Kosam told the Variety yesterday.
Kosam and his ports police officers were already at the Port of Saipan very early yesterday before the Fuji Maru cruise ship arrived from Japan. They were equipped with dive gear and rescue paraphernalia in case of any emergency.
One of the three K-9s provided to the Commonwealth Ports Authority in Sept. 2008 by the Transportation Security Administration to boost security measures at local airports and seaports was at the dock yesterday.
To update themselves with new techniques in ports policing, Kosam said they attend regular training sessions including the firearm instructor training for port police officers last month.
This month, Kosam said another batch of port police officers from Saipan, Tinian and Rota will be trained to upgrade their skills.
Kosam said students from Marianas High School trained as interns with them recently.
“The students got a taste of what ports policing work is all about. They started with administration work and later on to the other aspects of our work,” Kosam said.
He hopes the experience of the students would encourage them to join the police academy.
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