Port security company moves to Charleston

A company that aims to improve security at ports and port-related businesses around the globe has moved its headquarters to Charleston.

Safe Ports, run by Charleston native Lucy Duncan-Scheman, announced the move to Broad Street last week. The company has been in operation since 2003 and was based in Washington, D.C.

“Charleston and the ports of South Carolina are tremendously well placed for future growth and in a prime position on the eastern seaboard to service domestic and international trade,” Duncan-Scheman said in a press release.

The company offers dozens of services to ports and the maritime industry, and it has teamed up with several other private companies to help link maritime businesses with security experts.

Safe Ports specializes in risk assessment to help port facilities and clients determine the likelihood of a security breach or terrorist incident and map out insurance coverage to help deal with potential danger.

The company also works with government agencies, ports authorities and private port developers to design more secure waterfronts, finance projects, train personnel on safety programs and incident response, and implement the latest technology and security systems.

Among the private companies that have teamed up with Safe Ports is Charleston’s own Unitech, which recently won a multimillion-dollar government contract to conduct terrorism response workshops in coastal cities nationwide.

Safe Ports evolved from Duncan-Scheman’s company, Diplomatic Resolutions, which opened in 1992 and consults on major infrastructure projects around the world.