Coast Guard seeks improvements for coastal security

Coast Guard seeks improvements for coastal security    The U.S. Coast Guard is in the early stages of defining new requirements for expanding coverage of the Automated Identification System to smaller vessels as part of the service’s continuing effort to get a handle on what types of vessels are operating in coastal waters and whether they pose any threat to maritime commerce or ports, Commandant Thomas H. Collins said Monday.
   The Coast Guard intends to expand the types of vessels required to carry the AIS system to include those under 65-feet in length and also require them to provide advance notice of arrival, Collins said in a speech to members of local Harbor Safety Committees, which include government and private sector representatives, meeting in Long Beach, Calif.
   Collins said the service is also researching the use of floating barriers around certain maritime assets to establish a protective perimeter designed to protect against small boat attacks.
   Joseph Cox, president of the Chamber of Shipping of America, acknowledged vessel operators feel their greatest vulnerability is on the water side when at berth. Cox, who represents domestic container ship and other vessel operators, spoke at the National Industrial Transportation League’s Spring Policy Forum in Arlington, Va., April 19.
   “We feel pretty comfortable we can control access to vessels” and hiring safe employees, he said.