The Coast Guard follows guidelines recommended by the Department of Homeland Security for assessing risks to ferries and related facilities and takes a variety of measures to bolster security at the nation’s ferries, but the service has only begun to act on reports it contracted for regarding ferry security, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a recent report.
While a series of ferry security reports were done in 2005, the Coast Guard didn’t act on recommendations such as amending security training for vessel personnel and ferry screening personnel due to having to divert resources to implement the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, GAO says in its report, Maritime Security: Ferry Security Measures Have Been Implemented, but Evaluating Existing Studies Could Further Enhance Security (GAO-11-207). The report was released last week.
The studies were aimed at helping the Coast Guard create new standards for ferry screening and improving security practices, screening technology and identifying explosive hazards, GAO says. It says that one report included classified findings on the consequences of a car bomb aboard a ferry but that no recommendations came from the study.
“In addition, a 2005 informational memorandum to the Secretary of Homeland Security from the [Coast Guard] Commandant indicated that the Coast Guard, in consultation with the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and the Office for Domestic Preparedness, planned to implement new security measures to mitigate the risk of an improvised explosive device as a result of the ferry security studies,” GAO says. “However, in May 2010, Coast Guard program officials stated that there were no current actions being taken to address the findings and recommendations from the National Ferry Security Studies.
According to Coast Guard officials, the ferry security reports were released when the service was reorganizing internally, which delayed the release of reports to the appropriate units. This, GAO says, is why the Coast Guard thinks “no further actions were taken to evaluate or address the reports’ findings and recommendations.”
In June of this year, the Coast Guard reported to GAO that they were in the process of improving ferry security by revising regulations in the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The service during the past two years has also been developing updated guidelines for ferry screening to assist ferry owners and operators with passenger screening based on different maritime threat levels. The Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular was expected to be ready this fall, GAO says.
The Coast Guard and other Homeland Security agencies such as TSA and Customs and Border Protection already implement ferry security measures through regulatory and operational mechanisms, GAO says. For example, the Coast Guard conducts quarterly and annual safety and security inspections of ferries and ferry facilities, it says.
Coast Guard also at times deploys armed personnel aboard ferries to ensure the operator can maintain control of the vessel, performs vessel escort missions, and even uses vessel boarding security teams as part of routine patrols, GAO says.
The report also points out that TSA has deployed security teams over 300 times to ferry systems in the past four years as part of security efforts. Moreover, the agency has pilot tested various security screening technologies at 12 passenger ferries since 2003, GAO says.
GAO recommends that the Coast Guard complete evaluations of the findings and recommendations of the earlier ferry security reports and take appropriate actions. It also suggests that vehicle screening requirements are set at appropriate levels based on risk and a particular ferry’s operating requirements.