Facility Personnel News

The Military Sealift Command hospital ship, USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), departed Naval Station Norfolk today and is now underway and making final preparations to support relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. USNS Comfort can arrive in Puerto Rico as early as Oct. 3, but the final date and arrival location is to be determined. "The medical capability the ship can deliver can be done underway, it can be done in port, or it can be done at anchor. Between the helicopter capability we have and the boats we have, all of those things together give us the ability to be flexible in our mission," said Capt. Kevin Robinson, commander, forward command element aboard USNS Comfort.

The U.S. Coast Guard issued a marine safety alert today to remind all gas carrier owners and operators to ensure that all personnel follow approved Safety Management System cargo handling procedures and industry best practices. The USCG cited a recent investigation into a cargo compressor room fire onboard a foreign flagged Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carrier as the reason for the safety alert. Investigators suspect that unsafe cargo handling procedures associated with manual draining of hydrates from the drain line on the outlet of re-liquefaction condensers directly contributed to this casualty. Hydrates are compounds, in the form of crystalline substances, developed from the interaction of water and hydrocarbons at certain pressures and temperatures.

Recent casualties involving explosions aboard barges conducting tank cleaning operations alongside marine terminals have resulted in serious injuries to vessel crews and facility workers, catastrophic property damage, as well as harm to the environment. A review of related casualties has revealed that vessel personnel, facility personnel and shore side managers failed to ensure that established procedures and safe practices were followed. Specifically, the Operational Manuals and regulatory requirements were not routinely followed by those involved. As a result unintended and disastrous consequences occurred. This safety alert aims to raise awareness regarding this issue and highlight critical lessons learned from these incidents.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced it has submitted to the Federal Register a rulemaking to amend one provision of the Jan. The new rulemaking, which shares the same title as the Jan. 25, 2007 rule, amends the definition of "secure area" in Title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 101.105, to state that facilities otherwise subject to 33 CFR Part 105 located in the territory of American Samoa do not have secure areas for the purposes of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential regulations. This action means that only the facility security officer and facility personnel whose primary employment responsibility is security, will be required to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential per 33 CFR Sections 105.205 and 105.210.

Port facilities and Shipping companies are rushing to comply with new international and national maritime security requirements. The ISPS (International Ship and Port Security) and the U.S. maritime security requirements mandate security assessments, plans and training of security personnel. The Maritime Institute of Technology (MITAGS) and its satellite school, the Pacific Maritime Institute (PMI) offer training for port facility, shipping company and ship security officers. MITAGS/PMI is now offering training for Maritime Security Professionals.The ISPS Code, the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002 and in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) mandate training for port facility personnel with specific security duties.

The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code comes into effect two weeks from today – on 1 July 2004. Hindsight has shown that the ISPS Code was developed in haste and insufficient attention has been paid to its implementation by many involved in the process – flag administrations, security advisors, recognized security organizations, owners, and operators. It is now up to everyone to cooperatively work to improve maritime security while keeping commerce moving. The needs of neither maritime security nor maritime commerce should solely predominate. Growing pains should be expected as port state control (PSC) officials, ships’ crews, and facility personnel adjust to the new paradigm.

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has contracted with Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)-accepted Quality Standards System (QSS) organization, to evaluate and certify maritime security training courses for training course providers in the United States under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, P.L. 107-295 (MTSA). Section 109 of the MTSA specifically mandated “that the Secretary of Transportation shall develop standards and curriculum to allow for the training and certification of maritime security professionals.” The Secretary of Transportation delegated this function to MARAD; the Maritime Administrator charged the U.S. Merchant marine Academy (USMMA) with its execution.

WASHINGTON - Coast Guard Director of Port Security, Rear Adm. Craig E. Bone, testified today on chemical facility security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “Considering the vast economic utility of our ports, waterways and coastal approaches, it is clear that a terrorist incident against a facility in our marine transportation system could have a disastrous impact on public safety, the environment, our nation’s economy, and international trade. Such an incident, if it were to occur in a strategic port, could also threaten our military mobilization capabilities. An incident at one of the 350 chemical…

Coast Guard Director of Port Security, Rear Adm. Craig E. Bone, testified today on chemical facility security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. His written statement submitted for the record, follows. "Good morning Madam Chairperson and distinguished members of the Committee. It is a pleasure to be here today to discuss the U.S. Coast Guard’s role in securing the chemical facilities on the navigational waterways of the United States. The men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security remain committed to improving maritime homeland security each and every day through continued interagency cooperation and assistance from our partners at the local, state and international levels, as well as maritime industry stakeholders.

Navigating through U.S. By Dennis L. Holland & Knight, Washington, D.C. The U.S. Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) imposes various maritime security requirements on operating in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Maritime security regulations promulgated by the U.S. Coast Guard implement some (but not all) of the MTSA requirements and impose some additional requirements. In other words, Congress has imposed various requirements on the owners and operators of ships navigating waters of the United States and the U.S. Coast Guard has not provided full guidance on how to comply with those legislative mandates.

On December 30, 2002, the U.S. Coast Guard published a Notice of meetings and a request for comments relating to maritime security (67 Fed. Reg. 79742). Following are some thoughts on this important issue. I must commence by stating that I have the highest respect for the Coast Guard. The maritime and port security missions are vital to the U.S. and the world. There is no agency better qualified to lead this important program. Congress has assigned heavy responsibilities to the Coast Guard and, at the same time, required that the initial work be done in an impossibly short time. The Coast Guard is accustomed to working in real time and will accomplish the mission in the shortest possible period. While the U.S.