The State Department has adopted a policy of "denial with certain exceptions" regarding arms exports for the security firm EP Investments, LLC or EPI, (a/k/a Blackwater). While the Department recognizes Blackwater's recent creation of its Export Compliance Committee and will work with them allowing certain exceptions to be made, the "presumption of denial" is necessary to provide the U.S. Government with assurance that EPI is both capable and willing to comply with the AECA (Arms Export Control Act) and ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and will do so.
Given Blackwater's sometimes high profile activities around the world, this new policy seems geared toward making certain the company operates within the applicable laws. The policy does state exports may still take place under certain conditions with approval on a case by case basis as long as specific procedures are followed which are carefully outlined.
Link: Source
Link: Blackwater Export Compliance Committee
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are instituting a 
The recent dramatic rise in piracy in many locations around the world has prompted Maersk to re-route part of its fleet to avoid the Gulf of Aden, a particular hot spot, and seek alternative routing south of the Cape of Good Hope and east of Madagascar. This will primarily affect their tanker operations, though one would expect all shipping routes to be examined for potential risk.
The Transportation Workers Identification Credential program is running into technical problems. According to a report from the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee's TWIC Working Group, the biometric ID card is plagued with slow delivery time, inability of scanners to record fingerprints, incorrect information on the card, darkened photos, expiration date errors, and security features failing to print.
