I was hassled by the Rent - A - Cops at Port of Seattle's Terminal 5 a year or so back, for the simple act of parking on the overpass ( a public roadway, partially paid for by my King County property taxes ), on a Saturday morning, to grab a few images of the BNSF yard office and local power kept there. Barney & Gomer demanded to see my Transport Worker Identity Card while writing down my vehicle license number. I replied that while I do possess a valid TWIC card, I didn't have it with me "... because it is not needed OUTSIDE a Customs - controlled facility. " Barney then asked me if I was taking photos of Terminal 5, to which I replied : " Not yet, but I am now !!! " click - click - click. ( It's worth noting that all steamship lines moved out of Terminal 5 more than a year before the day in question; the entire facility was vacant. ) Gomer then went ballistic, informing me that I was in violation of U.S. Customs regulations, and that I was not to leave the scene while he called Port of Seattle Police. I let Barney & Gomer know that I was indeed leaving, headed E/B on Spokane St. to BNSF's Stacy St. yard, and if they wanted to do something about it, they had my vehicle license number.
Strangely, they NEVER asked for my driver's license or any other I.D. than a TWIC card. During a recent conversation with a Port of Seattle police officer on an unrelated matter, I mentioned my run - in with Barney & Gomer. He replied : " Those 2 guys caused so many problems, hassling people like you or the local fishermen, that we had them thrown off that assignment. "

In my day job as a Port Container truck driver I have been exposed to many differing levels of Port security in both Seattle & Tacoma. Seattle's Terminal 30 requires a driver to scan the TWIC card at both in - gate & out - gate, while T-18 only requires a scan at the in - gate. T-46 & T-5 ( when it was open ) only require a visual check by Barney in the in - gate guard shack. T-5 also wanted to see a terminal - issued Electronic Interchange Receipt at out - gate, though they made no effort to confirm it was actually for the equipment I was leaving with !!! ( I kept an old E.I.R. in the sun visor to show them...) Stranger yet, Northland / Alaska Marine Lines require a visual of my TWIC card at in - gate, even though they only serve domestic ports in Alaska !!! Same goes at TOTE in Tacoma, also Matson @ T-18, though they only serve Hawaii & Guam !!! The other Tacoma Port Terminals only do a visual at in - gate, though W.U.T. makes the driver roll the magnetic stripe on the back of the TWIC card at the in - gate phone kiosk. Husky only does a visual, though they require a scan of the driver's license bar code at the in - gate phone !!!

I believe the biggest reason for camera paranoia is due to the poor safety & work habits of the Longshore " workers " in the Ports. The advent of containers deprived the Longshore of their vast pilfering of freight, and also led to increased mechanization and ( outside the U.S. ) automation. It's worth noting that Google Earth can zoom in on objects as small as manhole covers. A friend who recently retired as an I.A.M. reefer mechanic at Port of Seattle told me his boss used to " ... spy on us guys " using Google Earth. Mention that at the next Port of Vancouver open house !!!