What is the MIT Port Resilience Project?
MIT CTL was funded as a partner in the “National Center for Secure & Resilient Maritime Commerce (CSR).” In response, CTL initiated the MIT Port Resilience Project, which focused on developing resilient and secure ports. CSR is a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center of Excellence (The Center for Maritime, Island, and Port Security), which was launched in July 2008 with the Stevens Institute of Technology as the lead institution.
The MIT Port Resilience Project built upon CTL’s deep and continuing research on supply chain resilience, supply chain risk management, and supply chain security (see Port Resilience – Reports and Publications for relevant CTL references). MIT’s role in the new Center of Excellence was developing the principles and actions for making ports resilient to disruptions.
Contributions include the Port Mapper beta-version online application which gives some basic port scenario planning capabilities. See this link for a brief description and a link to Port Mapper
For a pdf of a recent Port Mapper review, please visit this site.
See this link to go directly into the Port Mapper application. Note that you will be asked to provide some brief information before accessing the application. If you have any questions about the application, please contact Jim Rice and/or Kai Trepte (contact info below).
How does it work?
The MIT Port Resilience Project included several distinct efforts to understand ways to make ports resilient to disruptions. These include:
- Port Capacity Analysis: An early initiative to identify port capacity by commodity and location, and then conduct analysis on resilience options.
- Port Failure Mode Analysis: A study to identify system failure modes in ports and then subsequent methods to prevent and mitigate the impact of the failures.
- MIT Port Resilience Survey: A survey to collect input from port authorities, terminal operators, carriers, shippers, freight forwarders, and others involved in port operations and the coordination of port resilience.
What were the key benefits?
The research will study issues not yet addressed—particularly how to make ports in the United States resilient to disruptions.
How do I learn more?
Contact Jim Rice, jrice@mit.edu, if you are interested in learning more about this work.
Key members of the team
James B. Rice, Jr., Project Director
Deputy Director, MIT CTL
jrice@mit.edu
617.258.8584
Kai Trepte
Research Associate
trepte@mit.edu