Page 28: of Marine News Magazine (February 2018)

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COLUMN OP/ED

Safeguarding Our Marine

Transportation System

The U.S. Coast Guard has the enduring responsibility to safeguard the MTS and enable the uninterrupted ? ow of maritime commerce.

By Rear Admiral John Nadeau, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy, USCG

Our great Nation’s vast network of The Coast Guard strives to build resiliency in the MTS and navigable waterways, deepwater ports, continues to work closely with our industry partners to de- and protected harbors are natural eco- velop and implement policy for rapid response and recovery nomic assets and provide unfettered ac- operations when waterways and port closures occur. cess to the world’s two largest oceans. For example, following the devastation of Hurricane

This powerful maritime capability sus- Harvey, the Coast Guard employed electronic aids to tains America’s national security and navigation (e-ATON) to temporarily mark the location of fuels economic prosperity through the buoys and other physical aids that were destroyed or dam- 25,000 mile Marine Transportation aged along the Gulf Coast. The location of the individual

Nadeau

System (MTS). The MTS supports e-ATONs, which were transmitted over the Nationwide thousands of ships and 250,000 Ameri- Automatic Identi