The Canaveral Port Authority has been awarded a total of $1.39m in federal and state funding to help strengthen its security operations.
The Florida port will receive $1.1m in federal grant funding from the Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
It has also been given $288,000 in state-supported port security grant funding from the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development programme.
“Port safety and security is a primary mission of Port Canaveral. Our operations are diverse and continuous, and our close proximity to the surrounding community adds complexity to our environment,” chief executive Captain John Murray said.
“Grants like these are important funding to help us employ new resources and the latest technologies to augment our security measures.”
Port Canaveral will use the grant funding to install technology upgrades and new equipment that will improve cybersecurity preparedness and operational readiness against cyber threats.
The port is one of almost 50 US ports that received grants through FEMA's PSGP programme, which awards $100m in grants annually to ports and facility operators.
Port Canaveral, which receives 80% of its business from the cruise industry, is the world's second busiest cruise port behind Miami.
Cruise lines using the port include Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises.
The port also has 11 cargo-ship berths that can accommodate bulkers, boxships and ro-ros.
