DHS Unveils Small Vessel Security Strategy

[marinedtcomRob]

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced a new strategy to work with small boaters toward the goal of improving coastal and port security. Key objectives are:

Specific objectives identified in the SVSS to help achieve this goal include:

• Continue to develop and leverage a strong partnership with the small vessel community as well as both public and private sectors in order to enhance maritime domain awareness;
• Fortify maritime security and safety with a more robust, layered defense:
  • Better identification of small vessels operating in U.S. waters,
  • Expanded radiological/nuclear detection capabilities like the DHS West Coast Maritime Radiation Detection Project,
  • Improved situational awareness and information sharing, and
  • Enhanced data analysis to identify high-risk concerns;
• Leverage technology to enhance the ability to detect, determine intent and when necessary, interdict small vessels; and
• Cultivate coordination, cooperation and communications between federal, state, local and tribal partners in addition to the private sector and international partners to leverage capabilities and improve security operations within the maritime environment.

For the complete post for the DHS web site please click HERE.

I'd be interested in knowing what Sailnet members think of this. Personally, I think this is a good idea, my only concern being that this comes from the same folks who brought us some of the poor decisions of the past few years. Be that as it may, this just seems to make sense. Of course the devil is in the details. How specifically are they going to "continue to develop and leverage a strong partnership with the small vessel community as well as both public and private sectors in order to enhance maritime domain awareness"? Hopefully not just with more regulations and paperwork!

[lbdavis]

Originally Posted by marinedtcomRob

Hopefully not just with more regulations and paperwork!

That's all I see coming out of this.

"Better identification of small vessels operating in U.S. waters". What will this look like? License plates mandated from a DC bureaucrat with no understanding of the marine world?

I understand both the security risk of small craft and the "citizen watch" small craft can afford this country, but when was the last time you saw the government (particularly this administration) add security measures that were painless for its citizens?

LB

[chucklesR]

As you say, the devil is in the details.

Regulations require paperwork and enforcement will be as spotty as compliance. If, and I suspect it will, it comes down to every boat having to have an A.I.S. transponder installed it will be a major impediment to the budget boater among us - and silly in the extreme. KNowing how politics work in this country a requirement like that would be phased over a decade, and grandfathering would skip 'classic boats' with no power source - in the aggregate making the requirement as useless in reality as it is in theory. Besides your basic 70 mph jet ski loaded with a 50kg explosive can indeed take out a CNG carrier in the harbor quiet nicely while radiating "I'm Susie from jetskirental.com" all day and no amount of paperwork, regulations or regulators can make that risk go away.

Tell me what good 3 inch tall numbers on the side of my boat, a AIS broadcasting "i'm chuckles", a MD State registration sticker and a USCG aux safety inspection will do if Abdul Isaih Mohamed (pardon the sterotype) decides to board me and use my boat as as a ramming platform for the aforementioned CNG carrier in the Baltimore harbor?

Nothing. Worse than nothing, all the stickers and stuff do give the DHS a false sense of security and provide just enough confusion to delay a trigger finger. BTW you can fake said stickers good enough for the average 100 foot away glance with the average child's box of crayons. National security foiled with a 2 dollar box of crayons.

What does keep that from happening? The fact that as a ramming or attack platform my 7.2 knots of powered boat speed is ridiculous.

Now banning all high speed wake producing stink and noise producers would be a good idea . Developing and leveraging that into existence may put a strain on public relations.

[Idiens]

I guess there are two things behind it:-

1. Control
2. Money to pay for control.

Of course under this scheme, if any one does not obey your call - "STARBOARD!!!!" - you just report him as a suspected terrorist. That should enable the DHS to spoil the rest of his day.

[BenthosCritter]

How are we supposed to be able to tell the good guys from the bad guys while out on the water? Are we being asked to start tracking other boaters by keeping a log of what boats we saw and where? What exactly does this mean from a boaters perspective?

This government proposal on the surface, appears to be borderlining on the paranoia and I doubt that I will have any interest in participating. Tracking fellow citizens because there is an extremely remote chance that they may be a terrorist is not what the founding fathers ever intended.

If a citizen sees something that looks suspicious, then report it to the authorities. That is all that is necessary. It does not require a government program to do this.

[hphoen]

Originally Posted by BenthosCritter

How are we supposed to be able to tell the good guys from the bad guys while out on the water? Are we being asked to start tracking other boaters by keeping a log of what boats we saw and where? What exactly does this mean from a boaters perspective?

This government proposal on the surface, appears to be borderlining on the paranoia and I doubt that I will have any interest in participating. Tracking fellow citizens because there is an extremely remote chance that they may be a terrorist is not what the founding fathers ever intended.

If a citizen sees something that looks suspicious, then report it to the authorities. That is all that is necessary. It does not require a government program to do this.

Benthos,

My read of the proposal is that all they are asking you to do is make a phone call if you see something suspicious. The scenarios you describe in your first two paragraphs, above, aren't a part of it.

[camaraderie]

If you read the entire 57 page pdf file attached to the initial link you will find some discussion of some sort of ID program for small vessels in addition to 56 pages of government-speak that amunts to little. This whole subject bears watching but there is little to react to or object to so far. It certainly seems to be a lot of make-work gibberish with little potential to meaningfully secure us from terrorists and SOME potential to evolve into more government control over our waterborne activity.

[PBzeer]

The main function of any government bureaucracy is the continued re-invention of the wheel. Every five years or so, some new "bright and eager" bureaucrat will come up with the same idea that didn't work before. Any attempt to further monitor pleasure craft will only lead to expensive and unworkable regulations that will not accomplish anything other than further control over the boater.

Don't take my word for it though, just look at the past results.