A U.S. Coast Guard assessment in October 2001 found maritime security lacking at many major U.S. ports. The report says they are still "vulnerable" to terrorist attack.
The nation's 361 major ports form the heart of the U.S. Maritime Transportation System (MTS), and function as the nation's lifeline. They handle 95 percent of all U.S. overseas trade, and they serve as the conduit for 90 percent of war material destined for major theater operations. Yet of the 6 million cargo containers that pass through these ports, only 2 percent are physically inspected.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard has refocused its efforts on homeland security, specifically on the defense of the MTS. The shift has been called the biggest port security operation since World War II. Marine Safety and Security Teams (MSSTs), which operate like SWAT teams on water, exemplify the new mission objectives.
The U.S. Coast Guard has this year dedicated $47.5 million for six MSSTs, each comprised of 71 people. The teams are equipped with high-powered boats that can reach speeds of up to 50 knots (almost 60 mph). The boats are mounted with twin 350-horsepower engines and an M-60 machine gun. Crew members tote M-16s. They are supported by helicopters, equipment to detect weapons of mass destruction, and bomb-sniffing dogs.
The MSSTs are designated with a five digit number beginning with "911" in tribute to the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. The first team commissioned, in Seattle, is thus unit 91101.
Four of the teams are currently operational in Chesapeake, Va., Seattle, Los Angeles/Long Beach, and Galveston, Texas. The two other teams will be stationed in New York/New Jersey and Jacksonville, Fla.
The six teams are regional, which means they are responsible for all of the nation's 95,000 miles of coastline. Accordingly, they have been designed to be mobile. The U.S. Coast Guard says each MSST can deploy to anywhere in the nation in just 12 hours. Powerful tow trucks with flatbeds as well as C-130 transport planes will be used to move boats and equipment in the event of an emergency outside a team's homeport.
As the teams patrol harbors they perform vessel interdictions, establish security zones around high-risk ships such as oil tankers, and they are capable of emergency response. Coast Guard officials say the small, highly maneuverable teams are ideal for protecting cargo and cruise ships from waterborne attacks such as the ones that struck the USS Cole and the French oil liner off Yemen in October 2002.
The teams are unlike any other branch of the U.S. Coast Guard. They are focused on their primary defensive role of maritime SWAT team, relegating traditional Coast Guard activities such as search-and-rescue and drug interdiction to others in the service. When they go on mission, all identification and rank will be stripped from their uniforms.
Most of the team members are volunteers. Some come from the Coast Guard's drug interdiction forces and have considerable experience patrolling the seas in small fast boats, while others join from other branches of the military including the Navy's explosives ordinance unit and the Army's 82nd Airborne Division.
MSSTs are the vanguard of an effort to partially draw the U.S. Coast Guard away from its traditional roles toward one more narrowly aligned with defense and law enforcement. If Bush administration plans get congressional approval, the Coast Guard will be removed from the authority of the Department of Transportation and placed under a new Homeland Security Department.
Sources:
Coast Guard 2002 Report (http://www.uscg.mil/news/reportsandbudget/2002_report.pdf)
Jules Crittenden, "Coast Guard Survey Finds Hub, U.S. Ports 'Vulnerable'," The Boston Herald, Oct. 15, 2002.
Staff reports, "Anti-terror Team Stationed on Isle; Coast Guard Defending Key Ports," The Houston Chronicle, Oct. 9, 2002.
Carol Morello, "Ports at Risk, Coast Guard on Prowl; Elite Teams Created to Focus On Threats After Sept. 11," The Washington Post, Sept. 02, 2002.
Mimi Hall, "Homeland Defense At Water's Edge," USA Today, Aug. 12, 2002.
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