Foreign Ships Threaten More Than Our Health. Congress Shouldn’t Make It Easier for Them to Dock. – Inside Sources

Just weeks ago, U.S. officials revealed that COSCO, China’s state-owned shipping giant, allegedly used concealed equipment aboard one of its ships to intercept American military communications. Against that backdrop, a handful of Republicans in Congress are pushing to strip away one of the only protections California has against foreign ships operating with minimal oversight.

America First. It’s the notion that the U.S. economy should be bolstered by policies that benefit American workers, industries and national interests. It’s a mandate the Trump White House will defend to prove that we don’t extend goodwill or accommodations to foreign actors, including allies, at the expense of American interests. It is also a mandate that is about to be tested at America’s ports.

That test comes by way of the congressional review of California’s At-Berth Regulation and Commercial Harbor Craft policy — the requirements that force large ships to use shore power or approved emissions-capture technologies while docked instead of idling diesel engines at berth. Most of the debate so far has focused on health. Diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen, and there’s already a strong public health case for why this technology matters to port communities. What’s gotten far less attention are the national security implications.

Every ship that docks at a California port and connects to shore power or emissions-capture technologies creates a mandatory point of engagement, with American personnel and equipment interfacing with the vessel before it’s cleared to operate. That’s not incidental; it’s exactly why California’s emissions requirements should be left in place. If stripped away, the checkpoint disappears for every foreign vessel that ties up at a California berth, not just the ones we’re already worried about.

And let’s face it: There’s plenty to worry about. Last week’s allegations aren’t the first time COSCO has drawn scrutiny. The Pentagon placed the company on its list of firms tied to China’s military in January 2025. Separately, federal cyber officials have spent years warning about foreign-manufactured ship-to-shore cranes, the majority of which are built by a single Chinese state-owned manufacturer and can be remotely programmed and serviced, creating a potential backdoor into America’s port infrastructure. The U.S. Coast Guard has had to issue directives specifically to manage the cyber risk these cranes pose at American ports.

But China isn’t the only actor exploiting the gaps in maritime oversight, and that’s the part of the story we should all be paying attention to. Earlier this year, federal agents boarded a foreign-flagged oil tanker at the Port of Los Angeles and seized roughly 500 pounds of cocaine bound for a Mexican cartel — just one example of a broader pattern that saw federal agents intercept cocaine moving through commercial shipping lanes in the past year. It’s a reminder that any foreign cargo ship moving through American ports with minimal scrutiny is a potential vessel for whoever wants to use it — be it a hostile intelligence agency, a drug cartel or any other bad actor no one has thought to worry about yet.

There’s no shortage of California regulations worth fighting, but Congress should pick a fight that doesn’t hand foreign adversaries and criminal networks an easier path through American ports. America First has never meant looking the other way on foreign exploitation. Instead, it means strength and accountability at every point where foreign actors touch American soil — starting at the dock.