By JOHN P.McDERMOTT
Created from scratch in Charleston just two years ago, Project Seahawk is quickly becoming a shining example of how multiple government agencies can share information and work together to deter terrorist attacks, an early backer of the maritime-security initiative said Tuesday.
"I'm going to try to sell it to the rest of the country," U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said during his first visit to the task force's top-secret facility.
Backed by then-Sen. Fritz Hollings, Graham and other lawmakers, Seahawk was launched in 2003 with about $30 million.
It is the nation's first, and to date only, collaborative counterterrorism task force created to root out and respond to threats in U.S. waters and at U.S. ports, where the country is thought to be most vulnerable to terrorism and other international crimes.
One of Seahawk's main focuses is ensuring that none of the roughly 5,000 shipping containers that come through the Port of Charleston on a typical day are hiding a weapon of mass destruction.
"Let's face it, Charleston is a high-value target," Graham said.
Participants include dozens of security specialists from more than 50 local, state and federal agencies, as well as private contractors.
Graham said the project has surpassed his expectations and is succeeding where other national security efforts have failed or fallen short.
Seahawk operates around the clock. Officials start each morning with an hour-long meeting to discuss the data their agencies have gathered about the coming day's ship movements and other port-related activities. Assignments are doled out based on those talks.
Graham said he was struck Tuesday by the lack of red tape in the decision-making process. "They could literally turn around and talk to each other without a phone," he said.
He said Seahawk's funding "is in good shape for the next few years," but he vowed to push for more support as needed.
He also said the program needs to be rolled out nationwide, estimating it will take another year to iron out the startup kinks.
Contact John McDermott at 937-5572 or jmcdermott@postandcourier.com.
