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June, 2005 • MarineNews 37 sits through High Density Population

Areas. Commercial operators report the location of barges carrying specified car- gos to the IRVMC either electronically or manually. IRMVC provides this informa- tion to the inland river Coast Guard Cap- tains of the Port (COTPs). The COTPs then are able to schedule security board- ings and escorts based on individual risks associated with the movement of the cargo through specific regions of the country. The information provided by

IRVMC is essential to the Western Rivers

Maritime Security mission and provides the only MDA within the inland rivers system. A second initiative was the

Louisiana River Watch Program a joint effort between the Eighth Coast Guard

District and the Louisiana National

Guard. Based on the tenets of the Neigh- borhood Watch Program, this awareness program asks those who work, live, or recreate on or near the water to be aware of suspicious activity that might indicate threats to our country's homeland security.

Citizens are urged to adopt a heightened sensitivity toward unusual events or indi- viduals they may encounter in or around ports, docks, marinas, riversides, beaches, or communities. Anyone observing suspi- cious activity is simply asked to note details and contact local law enforcement.

In 2004, the Coast Guard expanded the

Louisiana River Watch and other similar programs to the national level renaming this partnership with the public as Ameri- ca's Waterway Watch. This collective national action is designed to increase the awareness of all Americans to suspicious activities on or near our coastlines and river systems.

The third initiative was the establish- ment of the Western Rivers Area Maritime

Security Committee. A quick look at a national map reveals that the Western

Rivers system includes six ports that have been identified as economically signifi- cant: Memphis, Louisville, St. Louis,

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Huntington.

Paducah, although not a designated eco- nomically significant port is located at the confluence of three major rivers, is a major thoroughfare and has considerable infrastructure. Chartered in January of 2004 the Western Rivers Area Maritime

Security (AMS) Committee was chartered in accordance with the Maritime Trans- portation Security Act of 2002. This

Committee provides a forum for port stakeholders in the Western Rivers Region to work together in facilitating the Coast

Guard's Ports, Waterways, and Coastal

Security (PWCS) mission to deter, detect, prevent and respond to attacks against

U.S. territory, population, and critical maritime infrastructure.

The Western Rivers AMS Committee functions as the regional AMS Committee for the Western Rivers Region. As such, it incorporates the geographic boundaries of the COTP zones of Pittsburgh, Hunting- ton, Paducah, Louisville, St. Louis, and

Memphis, as described below. In addi- tion, certain river portions of the COTP zones of Chicago, Mobile, and New

Orleans are incorporated into the Com- mittee.

The Committee's mandate is to assure consistency in: (1) Identifying critical port infrastruc- ture and operations. (2) Identifying risks (threats, vulnera- bilities, and consequences). (3) Determining mitigation strategies and implementation methods. (4) Developing and describing the process to continually evaluate overall

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SECURITY THE YEARBOOK

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