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U.S. Response I: Homeland Security Department Issues Interim Maritime Security Regulations By Mike Nartker The new regulations are expected to affect 10,000 maritime vessels, 5,000 facilities and 40 outer continental shelf facilities, such as tank vessels, large passenger vessels, offshore oil platforms and port facilities that handle dangerous kinds of cargo, according to a Homeland Security press release. Under the new regulations, vessel and facility operators and owners will be required to conduct vulnerability assessments and develop security plans. During a press briefing yesterday, U.S. Coast Guard Chief of Staff Vice Adm. Thad Allen said that while some U.S. port facilities are close to completing their own security assessments, others are lagging behind. “There are some ports and some industries and some facilities where they were right on top of this after 9/11,” Allen said. “Others are a little further back. And it’s going to be a challenge to get everybody kind of on the same piece of music, if you will,” he said. The regulations set a deadline of Dec. 31 for security plans to be submitted for Coast Guard approval, Allen said. As of July 1, 2004, all regulated vessels and facilities must have their approved security plans in place, he said. To provide “flexibility” and to “encourage” innovation, the Homeland Security release said, industry organizations may submit alternative security programs for Coast Guard approval. The new regulations also require vessels and facilities to implement new security measures based on three scalable security levels. Such measures could include passenger and baggage screening, security patrols, personnel identification procedures and the installation of security equipment. The new security levels — yellow, orange and red — are meant to match the national terrorism threat alert levels, Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson said yesterday. A Coast Guard official said that passenger and body screening would likely only be implemented when the U.S. terrorism threat alert level was at “orange,” or high, and only on certain vessels, the Associated Press reported. The new regulations require that an individual be designated to be responsible for each vessel or facility’s security program. In addition, the regulations also outline qualifications for security officers and require all personnel to receive training to be able to implement security plans. The regulations designate Coast Guard captains of the ports as federal maritime security coordinators with the authority to oversee and direct security activities at ports. In addition, the regulations also establish area maritime security committees, consisting of members of U.S., state and local agencies, industry representatives and others. These committees are required to conduct vulnerability assessments and to develop security plants for each of the 361 U.S. ports, as well as an annual security exercise, according to the Homeland Security release. Under the regulations, certain vessels will be required to install Automatic Identification System equipment, which instantly sends ship information to other ships and to shore-based agencies. Currently, only a “very small percentage” of ships have such equipment installed, a Homeland Security official said yesterday. “Pretty much all” international vessels, however, will be required to have AIS equipment installed and operational by the end of next year, the official said. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge praised the new regulations yesterday. “With 95 percent of our nation’s international cargo carried by ship, port security is critical to ensuring our nation’s homeland and economic security,” Ridge said in a statement. “The port security measures we are putting in place, both here at home and abroad, are about expanding our capabilities — strengthening a vitally important system with additional layers of defense,” he said. The Coast Guard has estimated that the costs of improving port security will be more than $7 billion over the next 10 years. Hutchinson said yesterday that $350 million is expected to be made available this year for port security grants to help offset the costs of the new regulations. He also said, however, that vessel operators and owners will have to cover the bulk of the costs in conducting their vulnerability assessments. “There have been some pilot programs, some funding available,” Hutchinson said. “But it is a shared responsibility, and so there will be a burden that will fall on the private sector,” he added. The interim regulations, designed to implement the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, were published without prior public comment, Allen said. Even so, Homeland Security held seven public meetings, with more than 2,100 industry, state and local representatives attending, he said. The department is now conducting a monthlong comment period, with final rules expected to be published in October and set to go into effect 30 days later, Allen said.
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