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nals and vessels to ensure the approved security measures have been properly implemented.

The MTSA also required the creation of

Area Maritime Security Committees in every Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP) zone led by the COTP as the Fed- eral Maritime Security Coordinator and populated by government and private sec- tor representatives with a security interest in the port. In many ways the creation of these committees was the most important element of the MTSA. It brings together representatives from federal, state and local agencies as well as the private sector to assess security needs in the port and to jointly plan how to address these security requirements in an Area Maritime Securi- ty Plan. This requires participants to enter into a dialogue where their diverse per- spectives of the Maritime Transportation

System are shared to develop a compre- hensive understanding of the cause and effect relationships of various security measures. Only from this understanding can truly effective and measured security actions be developed.

Following in the footsteps of the

MTSA, the Coast Guard and the Trans- portation Security Administration have formed an interagency team to look at ferry security. Called the National Ferry

Security Study Team, the group composed of Coast Guard, TSA and other Depart- ment of Homeland Security members is looking at all facets of safety and security for the passenger ferry system. According to an October 2004 Coast Guard press release, the team "will focus on issues involving the screening of people, vehi- cles and baggage for explosive devices.

They will assess screening technologies, model the potential consequences of an attack, examine the socio-economic effects of various screening strategies and seek to measure the deterrent effect of random screening."

As this team continues its study, the

Coast Guard continues to increase its mar- itime security influence. In a May 17, 2005 Congressional Hearing Rear Admi- ral Larry Hereth, Chief of Port Security for the Coast Guard, stated, "Our collec- tive effort to increase operational presence in the ports and coastal zones focus not only on adding more people, boats and ships to our force structures, but making employment of those resources more effective through application of technolo- gy, information sharing and intelligence."

One step the Coast Guard has taken to share information has been the distribu- tion of security "best practices" discern from ports around the world. One recent "Best Practices Bulletin" distributed domestically through the Area Maritime

Security Committees described access control procedures used by the in the port of La Goulette, Tunisia.

Passenger ferry security in the United

States is a key maritime issue for federal, state and local government as well as the private sector. Representatives from these various entities have worked together to implement prudent security measures to reduce the risk of terrorist attacks on fer- ries. These representatives continue to work hard to solve the problem of creating a culture of security that reduces the risk of terrorist attack to acceptable levels in balance with the ever-growing demands for effective maritime transportation.

Over 180 million passengers each year are counting on them. "The views expressed herein are those of the author and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Com- mandant or of the U. S. Coast Guard."

About the authors: Chris Doane and Joe

DiRenzo III are both retired Coast Guard officers and frequent contributors to

Marine News and Maritime Reporter.

Both have written extensively on maritime security issues.

July, 2005 • MarineNews 35

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