Proceedings Of The Marine

SPR 2014

Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.

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40 Proceedings Spring 2014 www.uscg.mil/proceedings Port Security Tools Senior offcials promulgated the South Texas Area Maritime Security Plan to ensure effective governmental and private sector measures to deter, detect, disrupt, respond to, and recover from a transportation security incident across the intermodal marine transportation system (MTS). 2 Forward-leaning sensors deployed on regional, state, local, and federal aviation and marine platforms offer an expanded perimeter to alert offcials operating in the exclusive eco- nomic zone, the port, and border areas about potential trans- portation security incidents. Further, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offcials established the Corpus Christi Regional Coordinating Mechanism to leverage DHS resources within the South Texas border area of responsi- bility — providing a common operational picture, shared intelligence, and shared personnel/resource mission hours. Additionally, DHS personnel recently conducted three major multi-agency operations to identify and disrupt narcotics smuggling. Operators detained several people entering the country illegally and confscated 39 kilo bricks of cocaine, 5 lbs. of heroin, and 15 bales of marijuana. 3 Port security officials rely on the Maritime Security Risk Analysis Model (MSRAM) to assess risk based on a comparison of threat, vulnerability, and consequence. As Texas shares a nearly 2,000-mile international border with Mexico, including the Falcon and Amistad dams and the Port of Brownsville, proper operational plan- ning is paramount. Leveraging MSRAM data and shar- ing intelligence ensures resource hours and response assets are programmed to the highest-risk target areas. Partners in Security Foreign vessels provide notice of arrival to the Port of Brownsville, and Coast Guard boarding teams often meet these vessels offshore to ensure they have The Port of Brownsville, Texas, is at the end of a 17-mile, deep-draft shipping channel that meets the Gulf of Mexico at the Brazos Santiago Pass, at the southernmost tip of the state. At Brownsville, Mexico's land transportation is linked with the U.S. Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. As such, the port provides a convenient gateway to move goods between Mexico and the United States. From a law enforcement perspective, proximity to the bor- der coupled with deep-draft foreign vessel traffc, makes law enforcement and transportation security risks chal- lenging. In fscal year 2012 alone, Coast Guard enforcement officers interdicted 22 illegally fishing Mexican vessels, recovered nearly 30 nautical miles of illegal fshing gear, intercepted more than 1,200 lbs. of marijuana, and trans- ferred 122 undocumented aliens to Customs and Border Protection agents for enforcement action. 1 Securing the Port Managing port security on the Mexican border. by LCDR eriCh stein Chief, Waterways Management U.S. Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi Border Operations View of the Port of Brownville. Coast Guard photo by LT Dallas Smith. Spring2014_FINAL.indd 40 3/21/14 11:14 AM

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