Back in September, the maritime community gave a collective sigh of relief. Word came that the source of mysterious radiation from a box onboard the containership Palermo Senator was ceramic tiles—not a "dirty bomb." The incident had seen the ship moved offshore from its berth at the Port of Newark to an offshore location where it was inspected by teams that reportedly included members of the Energy Department's NEST (Nuclear Emergency Search Team) established in 1974 to seek out and dismantle "improvised nuclear devices."
One lesson from the Palermo Senator? "We were too late," says one Coast Guard source. "If there was something suspicious in the cargo , it should have been caught before the vessel ever got near our waters."
While the Palermo Senator incident turned out to be a false alarm, within less than a month the suicide-bomb attack on the French tanker Limburg underscored the fact that the terrorist threat to commercial shipping is very, very real.
PROGRESS
Until the Limburg attack, not a few shipowners were taking the view that Americans were being "hysterical" about enhanced security and that the new security regulations being developed within IMO are just another compliance burden.
Hopefully, that view has changed. Meantime there has been considerable progress on several fronts in developing a more secure maritime transportation environment.
LANDMARK ACT
As we went to press, the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 was set for signature. Initially introduced in 2000, the bill is the culmination of a two-year effort to close security gaps at American ports led in the Senate by Sen. Fritz Hollings (R-S.C.) and Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and in the House by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, James Oberstar, (D-Minn.), Ranking Democrat, Transportation Committee, Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Chairman, Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, and Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.), Ranking Democrat, Coast Guard Subcommittee.
What's in the legislation?
Among many other things it:
- requires the Coast Guard to conduct vulnerability assessments of U.S. ports. The results will be used to implement a national maritime transportation security planning system, consisting of a comprehensive national plan, specific area plans, and local vessel and marine facility plans.
- requires the Coast Guard to assess the effectiveness of security systems in certain foreign ports, and to deny entry to vessels from ports that do not maintain effective security.
- requires background checks and federally issued transportation security cards for individuals who enter secure areas on vessels or facilities.
- authorizes grants for enhanced facility security at U.S. ports for the next six fiscal years. These grants will help cover the costs of port security improvements and fund research and development projects to determine which technologies will improve port security.
- requires that the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating maintain a cargo tracking, identification and screening system for shipping containers shipped to and from the United States.
- requires the establishment of performance standards to enhance the physical security of shipping containers, including standards for container seals and locks.
- other important security enhancements concerning enhanced vessel crewmember identification, Coast Guard sea marshals, and vessel transponders to track the movement of vessels in U.S. waters.
HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT
The Congress has nowgiven President Bush the legislation he was looking for to create a new Department of Homeland Security.
The new department will indeed be headed by Governor Tom Ridge, the present Homeland Security Advisor. For the marine industry, a crucial question is who will fill the key role of Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security. Former Coast Guard Commandant Admiral James Loy, just confirmed by the Senate as Under Secretary of Transportation for Security, would seem a logical choice.
Primary responsibilities of the new Under Secretary include: (1) preventing the entry of terrorists and the instruments of terrorism into the United States, (2) securing the borders, territorial waters, ports, terminals, waterways, and air, land, and sea transportation systems of the United States, (3) administering the immigration and naturalization laws of the United States, including the establishment of rules governing the granting of visas and other forms of permission to enter the United States to individuals who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents, (4) administering the customs laws of the United States, and (5) ensuring the speedy, orderly, and efficient flow of lawful traffic and commerce in carrying out these responsibilities.
Agencies and functions relevant to border and transportation security that are to be transferred to the Department of Homeland Security include both Loy's present agency, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Coast Guard, both now within the Department of Transportation. The legislation expressly requires that the Coast Guard be maintained as a distinct entity within the Department of Homeland Security.
The Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security will also be responsible for the United States Customs Service (now in the Department of the Treasury), the Immigration and Naturalization Service (now in the Department of Justice) and the Federal Protective Service of the General Services Administration is also transferred to the Department.
NEXT
TIGHTENING THE SECURITY BLANKET