WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Susan Collins today was honored with the Distinguished Leadership Award for Maritime and Supply Chain Security during the U.S. Maritime Security Conference in New York City.

The conference is the largest maritime security conference in the world. Collins was recognized for her work on the SAFE Port Act that she coauthored with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). Also receiving an award was Rep. Peter King, who is the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Collins received the award in front of an audience of about 600 international government and industry leaders of the maritime and shipping community. The award is sponsored by the U.S. Maritime Administration; the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; the John Jay College of Criminal Justice; and the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The SAFE Port Act is designed to address the vulnerabilities that ports and global supply chains face. It also strengthened the Container Security Initiative (CSI) which helps U.S. Customs inspectors at foreign ports identify and inspect high-risk containers before they are shipped to the United States.


####