Coast Guard conducts security exercises in Tampa

Coast Guard conducts security exercises in Tampa The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a large-scale maritime security exercise for the Tampa Bay area Tuesday, including an aerial drop from a helicopter onto a cruise ship that was playing the role of a terrorist-controlled vessel carrying hazardous materials.
   The exercise, Operation Bay Sentinel 2006, started at 1 p.m. and included federal, state, and local agencies involved with maritime security. The exercise was one of the Area Maritime Security Training Exercise Program (AMSTEP) operations conducted at ports around the country.
   The Coast Guard said the exercise emphasized prevention, preparedness for response, crisis management and recovery, resource management, and information sharing during a potential Transportation Security Incident in the Tampa Bay area. The target audience for Bay Sentinel 2006 included decision makers in the private sector, MTSA-regulated entities, and law enforcement officials and emergency responders at the federal, state, and local levels.
   'This exercise has demonstrated the ability for local, state, and federal agencies, along with port industry stakeholders, to operate as a single entity to achieve the unifying goal of heighten security for the Port of Tampa,' said Jason S. Franz, public affairs officer for Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg.