MARAD PARTICIPATES IN OECD WORKSHOP ON PORT SECURITY

MARAD PARTICIPATES IN OECD WORKSHOP ON PORT SECURITY    Officials of the U.S. Maritime Administration joined their overseas counterparts and shipping industry executives this week in Paris to discuss international approaches to port security.
   The Ad-Hoc Working Group on Security for the Maritime Transportation Committee will be held at the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on March 7-8.
   “We must participate in these international forums because port security problems require international solutions,” said Bruce Carlton, the OECD’s Maritime Committee chairman and associate administrator for policy and international trade at MarAd. “It is vital that we work with other countries and international agencies worldwide, as well as with all the modes within the Department of Transportation and other agencies in the U.S. government.”
MarAd said the international workshop “complements and augments” port security work in the United States, such as the port security grant program administered by MarAd and Coast Guard on behalf of the Transportation Security Agency.
   Carlton also said “the workshop will not duplicate the work of other international governments or organizations.”
   “The goal of this meeting is to assess the economic and political impact of security measures on international trade and economic growth,” he said. “We also hope to accelerate and reinforce the work the International Maritime Organization accomplished in February.”
   The IMO February intercessional meeting called for a number of aspects in the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) to become mandatory. These new requirements would include written ship security plans onboard each vessel and security training for ship and shoreside company security officers.