Coast Guard has new mission: the commandant says the Coast Guard is up to the task of protecting America's 361 ports and 95,000 miles of shoreline from terrorists

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Sept 2, 2002 | by Christian Bourge

Despite the challenges faced in securing America's ports and maritime trade infrastructure since Sept. 11, the U.S. Coast Guard is up to the task, Thomas H. Collins, the new commandant of the Coast Guard, said in a recent speech. "I want us to think [about] just how important our maritime transportation system is and how vulnerable it is to attack," said Collins at an event sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Security Studies.

The Coast Guard's mission differs from the work of the other U.S. armed forces. First, it entails a traditional armed-forces role of protecting the nation's seaports, thousands of miles of open shores and navigable waters. Second, it involves a civilian law-enforcement role of fighting illegal trade and drug smuggling. Collins added that the agency also plays an important economic role by protecting international trade. He said that more than 95 percent of foreign trade passes through the nation's seaports, and that maritime trade overall contributes $1 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product.

Collins believes that with thousands of ships and millions of semitrailer-sized cargo containers entering U.S. ports annually, maritime transportation is a likely terrorist target. He added that the potential economic impact of a shutdown in water traffic would make the "9/11 aviation shutdown pale in comparison."

The challenge is a daunting one for an agency that long has been the stepchild to the four other branches of the military and traditionally has received little support from the public or Congress.

The Coast Guard has awarded an $11.05 billion contract for a new fleet of ships and aircraft. Collins says that the funding increase is critical to the Coast Guard fulfilling its mission. The money will pay for more patrol ships and planes as well as personnel. "Presence is deterrence," he said. "Just ask any cop on the beat."

But Collins, who took over as commandant on May 30, believes that technology must be used to push the coastal security barricade outward from domestic ports and the immediate U.S. shoreline to the megaports around the world.

He says that the key is checking U.S.-bound shipping containers at the points of origin for weapons of mass destruction or other destructive materials. He said that computerized tracking of container movements would improve domestic security.

To achieve this, he said, the United States must form partnerships with global shipping companies and foreign governments to get them to practice "disciplined security measures." One method he mentioned was a "trusted-shipper" program, which would give preferential port treatment to companies that practice regimented security.

"The answer is not searching every container," Collins said. "I think the answer is a combination of public and private partnerships ... and programs to get into the supply chain. This is a management problem."

CHRISTIAN BOURGE IS THINK TANK CORRESPONDENT FOR UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL.