Coast Guard to rework safety procedures, add civilian staff

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), May 23, 2008 by Andy Rosen

The U.S. Coast Guard plans to rework many of its maritime safety practices, officials announced Thursday, and port businesses around Baltimore could see changes in oversight for towing, fishing and many small craft operators.

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen announced during a visit to the Baltimore-based maritime services firm Vane Brothers Co. that the Coast Guard is developing a system to improve shipping safety. The five-year plan will add civilian staff and create more consistent standards for recreational boaters and for the inspections of towing vessels.

All told, the Coast Guard plans to add 276 safety-related jobs around the country over the next year. It also wants to add six centers around the country that deal with specific technical fields. Though Allen said the Coast Guard has not yet decided where those centers will be located, he said one that focuses on liquefied natural gas safety could be particularly meaningful for Baltimore and Maryland.

Maryland state and local officials have been battling with the Virginia-based energy firm AES Corp. over whether the company can build an LNG terminal at Sparrows Point in Baltimore County. There is already an LNG terminal owned by Dominion Resources Inc. at Cove Point in Calvert County.

Capt. Brian D. Kelley, who heads the Coast Guard at the Port of Baltimore, said he thinks the business community will benefit from an increase in civilian staff around the port. Members of the military who work with the Coast Guard can be moved or transferred, while civilians are more likely to stick around.

"If we have civilian inspectors that are here in the port, they are going to have that longevity that you can [use to] build a relationship with your clientele," Kelley said.

Allen said in an interview that the Coast Guard hopes to standardize many of the safety procedures that differ around the country, which he believes will make the system more predictable for companies that use different ports. One area that he wants to address is recreational boating, where the Coast Guard plans to increase safety requirements such as boater education.

The Coast Guard also plans to streamline many inspection, certification and permitting processes to make them easier to navigate.

Another major part of the plan will affect the tugboat industry in Maryland. The Coast Guard plans to step up inspections for tugboats by 2011, in order to comply with a law passed by Congress two years ago.

There are 10 major tugboat companies operating in Maryland, according to the American Waterways Operators, the industry's national trade association.

Christopher A. Coakley, vice president of the waterways operators, said the industry has pushed for several years for tugboats to be included as one of the vessel types that are subject to Coast Guard inspection. The association believes government oversight is the best way to make sure all tugboats are safe, though the association has its own inspection program as well.

"We were pleased to hear the admiral mention today that it is a priority for the Coast Guard to complete the towing vessel inspection," Coakley said. "It was overdue."

James J. White, director of the Maryland Port Administration, said he had not fully reviewed the new safety plans, but was looking forward to learning more about them.