Response Protocols News

As dusk descends upon our nation's ports, casting shadows over the waterfront, another shadow looms in the digital landscape — the threat of cyber warfare. In an era where connectivity reigns supreme, our maritime infrastructure stands at a critical juncture, balancing vulnerability and resilience. The recent White House announcement of a Presidential Executive Order, and a hefty $20 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding proposal to fortify our ports, underscores the gravity of the situation.It is a fact that at this time China has manufactured 80% of our nation’s ship-to-shore cranes…

The Alaska Chadux̂ Network (ACN) and the Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC) have finalized an agreement to develop and implement a program to respond to oil spill impacted marine mammals throughout Western Alaska, the U.S. Arctic, and Prince William Sound. The Agreement includes funding from ACN for ASLC to further develop oiled marine mammal response protocols and resources. In addition, the new program will involve opportunities to train, exercise and drill with ACN responders, including ACN partners in local communities…

Operations to remove the overturned car carrier Golden Ray in St. Simons Sound, Ga. have been suspended due to a coronavirus outbreak among responders and safety risks relating to hurricane season, the wreck removal unified command team announced Friday.To date, 10 responders have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 50 responders, out of approximately 300 personnel, have been quarantined due to contact tracing, according to the St. Simons Sound Incident Unified Command.

Late last year, the Transportation Research Board released a major study that was undertaken “in response to the rapid development of domestic sources of energy and questions about the safest ways to move these products.” The Study Committee examined the operational responses of the three primary modes impacted by the fracking revolution – rail, pipeline and maritime. A primary observation of this work was that that the “Marine Transportation System Offers a Model for Robust Safety…

The subcommittees are meeting today to examine the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the smuggling of nuclear materials in U.S. ports and other port security risks. This hearing follows last year’s hearing which examined the prevention and response to a dirty bomb at a U.S. port. It seems clear that Islamic extremists aspire to carry out a radiological attack, so this is a threat we need to take seriously. If they succeed even once, the consequences would be catastrophic. To be prepared, we must ensure that we have the proper screening and response protocols in place. Today we will continue to review these efforts as well as broader governmental efforts to reduce threats to our ports.

Ecology issues $112,500 penalty for sunken vessel. American Gold Seafoods faces a $112,500 penalty for an oil spill caused by the accidental sinking of its vessel, the Clam Digger, in July 2013 near Anacortes. The Washington Department of Ecology investigated the cause of the sinking and spill and determined that negligence was a key factor. When the Clam Digger left Anacortes on July 10, the boat encountered high waves, began taking on water, and eventually sank. AGS immediately initiated appropriate response protocols. Divers recovered the boat six days later, but during the recovery efforts 315 gallons of oil spilled. "This spill was preventable," said Dale Jensen, who manages Ecology’s Spill Prevention, Preparedness and Response Program.

Every year there are countless books written about leadership and management, supplemented by a mountain of similarly themed magazine articles and scholarly treatises, eagerly snapped up by legions of wanna-be bosses and officers. As a culture, we are obsessed with leadership, especially leaders as heroic figures, and we are constantly seeking the right formula to make us so. But all those would-be captains of industry – and the oceans – might find it a lot easier to step away from the stacks and take a page from a leader extraordinaire…

Caribbean nations will come together for the first time to specifically address emergency response protocols for offshore deepwater drilling activities. Open Forum’s inaugural conference: 'One Caribbean – One Responseon' will be held September 13, 2012, in Port of Spain, Trinidad. “The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico are inextricably linked by the continuous flow of ocean currents and eddy streams. A deepwater event in any one of these regions becomes everyone’s challenge,” said Open Forum founder Lee Hunt, former President of the International Association of Drilling Contractors. The goal of the forum is to improve the integration of emerging deep-water drilling with regional regulatory and industry response capabilities.

Testifying yesterday before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at a hearing on the Law of the Sea Convention, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp stressed that accession to the Convention will better position the Coast Guard to advance and protect America’s national, economic and environmental security – especially in the emerging Arctic. Papp explained how the Coast Guard would be able to leverage provisions in the Convention to solidify the cooperative framework for interdiction at sea, enhance maritime safety and strengthen protection of the marine environment.

Smiths Detection announced the award of a contract for its FirstView early warning chemical threat detection and video management system to be installed at the Port of Providence, R.I. Funded through a competitive Department of Homeland Security grant, the system will alert authorities to chemical hazards in the port area and provide real-time video and sensor data to first responders and emergency personnel. It combines Smiths Detection’s chemical detection capabilities (Centurion II) and FirstView video and sensor management software with Raytheon’s Athena command and control system to monitor traffic in Narragansett Bay. Using radar…

The Coast Guard and its state and local law enforcement and transportation partners have scheduled an exercise April 26-27 at the Woods Hole Steamship Authority ferry terminal to provide hands-on training for those who would be the first responders to any terrorism related incident on a ferry. The exercise will help familiarize first responder teams with the unique operational challenges aboard a ferry, as well as acquaint ferry crews and staff with law enforcement procedures during a terrorism incident. It will also be a dynamic opportunity for response teams from various agencies to interact and coordinate response protocols, and give agencies a chance to document lessons learned and areas for improvement.

The following is the transcript of the Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, January 12, 2005. Secretary Ridge: John, thank you very much, David. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is true as of February 1st I’ll be able to walk through the front door. That’s a good thing. It’s a much abused reference for those who enter public service and then leave it, but I am reminded from time to time, particularly by my children, that there will be a point in time when I get into the back seat and the car doesn’t move. That means I’ve got to get out and get in the front seat and move it myself.

The Thirteenth U.S. Coast Guard District and Washington state (Ecology) have formalized protocols for improved coordination of their oil pollution prevention and response efforts in Washington state waters. Capt. Myles Boothe, Chief, 13th Coast Guard District Marine Safety Division; and Dale Jensen, Ecology’s spills program manager, signed the protocols last Friday at the 13th Coast Guard District office. In May 2001, Governor Gary Locke and USCG Rear Adm. Erroll M. Brown signed a Memorandum of Agreement to work together to achieve a coordinated and efficient working relationship. The new protocols for Washington waters apply to all oil spill incidents and include information sharing…