Port Manatee will receive a federal grant for $813,090, enabling advancement of multiple security-related enhancements, port officials have announced. The latest award from the Port Security Grant Program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency brings the total federal grant support for Port Manatee security initiatives since 2005 to more than $13 million.

The $813,090 federal award for fiscal 2020, to be augmented by a 25 percent port match of $271,030, is to allow the port to update and expand its video security and surveillance system; replace about 2 1/2 miles of outdated fencing to bolster security along the port’s north perimeter; procure and service upgraded radio communications equipment, making it compatible with the recently enhanced Manatee County emergency response system; and replace the engine of the port’s shallow-water response vessel, which is crucial to enforcement of security zones, including in areas inhabited by seagrasses.