james law- coast guard prevention and investigation

U.S. Coast GuardAmerica’s Maritime Guardian

June 2010

A few armed vessels, judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports, might at a small expense be made useful sentinels of the laws.

— Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury

Federalist No. 12, Nov. 27, 1787

(Earliest recorded reference to what would become the U.S. Coast Guard)

The Coast Guard is …• Military

– One of the five armed forces• Multi-mission

– Has 11 statutory missions• Maritime

– Oldest, continuous seagoing service

The U.S. Maritime Environment

• 95,000 miles of shoreline

• 3.5 million square miles of Exclusive Economic Zone – 200 miles out from

the coast• One of every six jobs is

marine-related • More than one-third of

the gross national product originates in coastal areas

Maritime Transportation• More than 90% of the

world’s trade is carried on the water

• Carries 78% of all U.S. international trade

• Transports 66% of all U.S. crude oil

• Produces thousands of U.S. jobs

Seas provide opportunities/threats• Avenue for commerce and world trade• Ability to have military power beyond

our shores to protect U.S. interests• Highways for criminal and terrorist

threats that honor no national borders

drug-smuggling submarine

The Coast Guard is always ready to provide

• Maritime safety• Maritime security• Maritime stewardship

… through 11 statutory missions

1. Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security In an average day,

the Coast Guard:• Provides a presence

in all major ports• Does security

boardings of 5 high interest vessels

• Provides a waterside escort for 4 military supply ships

2. Drug Interdiction

warning shots

off-loading seized drugs

In an average day, the Coast Guard:• Keeps ½ ton of

cocaine off the streets

3. Aids to Navigation

In an average day, the Coast Guard:• Services 49 buoys

and fixes 21 discrepancies (such as buoys moved by a hurricane)

4. Search and Rescue

In an average day, the Coast Guard:• Saves 13 lives• Responds to 64

search and rescue cases

• Saves $260 thousand in property

• Rescues 77% of mariners in imminent danger

5. Living Marine Resources In an average day, the Coast Guard:• Boards 15 fishing

boats to ensure compliance with fisheries laws

6. Marine Safety In an average day, the Coast Guard:• Screens 679

commercial vessels and 170,000 crew and passengers

• Investigates 12 marine accidents

• Issues 200 credentials to merchant mariners

7. Defense Readiness

In an average day, the Coast Guard:• Has 6 patrol boats

and 400 personnel:– Protecting Iraq’s

maritime oil infrastructure

– Training Iraqi naval forces

– Keeping sea lanes secure in the Arabian Gulf

8. Migrant InterdictionIn an average day, the Coast Guard:• Interdicts 10

undocumented migrants trying to enter the United States

9. Marine Environmental Protection

In an average day, the Coast Guard:• Responds to and

investigates 10 pollution incidents

• Inspects 70 containers

• Inspects 33 vessels for compliance with air emissions standards

10. Ice OperationsIn 2009, the Coast

Guard:• Performed domestic

icebreaking to keep waterways open for commercial traffic

• Assisted 479 ice transits

• Enabled the transport of $2 billion worth of cargo

• Brought scientists to the Arctic to map the floor of the Arctic Ocean and for studies on polar bears, ocean sediment and methane gas

11. Other Law Enforcement(foreign fishing vessel law enforcement)

Assisting China with fisheries law enforcement

In 2009, the Coast Guard:

• Detected 112 foreign fishing vessels illegally encroaching the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone

• Conducted cooperative patrols with China for fishery enforcement in the North Pacific

Where we fit

Dept. of the Army Dept. of the Air Force

U.S . Navy U.S. Marine Corps

Dept. of the Navy

Dept. of Defense

U.S. Coast Guard

Dept. of Hom eland Security

U.S. President

Unique Law Enforcement Authority

• Posse Comitatus Act– Federal law that prohibits using the

military for law enforcement – Coast Guard is exempt

Personnel Strength of Armed Forces

ServiceMilitary

personnel

Percent

of totalArmy 558,840 38%Air Force 335,490 23%Navy 329,571 22%Marine Corps

204,133 14%

Coast Guard

43,449 3%

Total 1,471,483 100%(as of February 2010)

Our People• Full-time

– Military: 42,400– Civilian: 7,900

• Part-time– Reservists: 6,900

• Volunteers– Auxiliarists: 30,000

Our military strength – about the same size as the New York City police force

Budget and Resources• Fiscal Year 2010 Budget: $10.1 billion• Resources

– Cutters: 250(65 ft. +)

– Boats: 1,784– Aircraft: 198

Marine Safety and the Coast Guard’s

Prevention Program

• Mandatory Inspection Activities• Discretionary Examination

Activities• Discretionary Boarding Activities

Prevention Program includes:

• Tank Vessels (ships and barges)• Freight Vessels• Passenger Vessels• Vessels with Steam Propulsion

Mandatory Inspection Activities: US flag

• These vessels are inspected annually and issued a 5-year Certificate of Inspection.


• Passenger Vessels carrying more than six passengers for hire.

• Certain Fish Processing Vessels


Mandatory Inspection Activities: Foreign flag

Certain Foreign Vessels• Tank Vessels (ships and barges)• Passenger Vessels carrying 12

or more passengers…

• Commercial Fishing Vessels• Uninspected Passenger Vessels

(UPV)• Tow and Tug Boats****

Discretionary Examination Activities: US flag

• Vessels are usually issued a decal• Reflects a point in time condition• Can have a one or two year time.• Does not exempt underway

boardings• Typically done at dockside.


Uninspected Passenger Vessels (UPV)

• 6 passengers if less than 100 gross tons

• 12 passengers if greater than 100 tons

Know as “Six” and “Twelve” Packs


• Freight Vessels and Barges• Issued Certificates• May not preclude boardings at

other US ports

Discretionary Examination Activities: Foreign flag

MISLE System

• Recreational Boats• Commercial Fishing Vessels• Small Passenger Vessels• Tow and Tug Boats• Commercial Vessels (smaller)

Discretionary Boarding Activities

• Conducted while underway• Armed Enforcement Teams• Checks for compliance with US

and international regulations• May issue a decal.


• Coastal and typically not in inland waterways, rivers

• The Boating Safety Program uses boarding numbers and findings in the US Coast Guard’s Strategic Plan as a measure of effectiveness.


• Uninspected commercial vessels, depending on their service, very often are state registered – marked vessels

• These vessels are not required to make any reports to the Coast Guard

Coast Guard issues with all this…

We find out about these vessels in one of several ways;

• Boardings• Vessel casualties or pollution

incidents• Reports of misconduct or violation

Coast Guard issues with all this…

• We do not want to pre-empt states from their responsibilities on state waters;

• We do not want to push an unfunded mandate down to identify vessels without some kind of give back

So now what?

• Normally – BLA’s contact Coast Guard District Office Recreational Boating Coordinators for questions on recreational boating issues

• That continues to be encouraged!

What the Coast Guard can do for you …

• BLA’s may contact Coast Guard District commercial vessel safety programs, sometimes known as the Office of Prevention, for issues on commercial vessels


• BLA’s may contact Coast Guard District waterway safety management programs, sometimes also in the Office of Prevention, for issues on waterways safety


• BLA’s may contact Coast Guard Sector Offices for issues on waterways safety as well as commercial vessel safety.

• Example: providing assistance in conducting stability studies on a passenger vessel in wholly state regulated waters.


• Via the NASBLA partnership, assist state BLAs with summary or detailed boarding statistics on state registered or marked vessels, recreational and/or commercial, in the implementation or measurement of their own prevention programs.


• Facilitate joint investigations with the state agency when commercial vessels are involved with recreational boats and deaths are involved.

• Work with state agencies on the investigation of recreational boat casualties outside the jurisdiction of state waters.



Coast Guard’s Homeport Websitehttp://homeport.uscg.mil


Coast Guard’s Homeport Websitehttp://homeport.uscg.mil

Casualty and Pollution Data for download and analysis

Merchant Vessels of the US

Notable Oil Spills in US Waters 1989 – 2008

Oil Spill Compendium 1973 – 2009

What the Coast Guard can do for you …Coast Guard’s Marine Information Exchange

http://cgmix.uscg.mil/Default.aspx


Coast Guard’s Marine Information Exchangehttp://cgmix.uscg.mil/Default.aspx

CG Port State Information Exchange

Approved Equipment

Security Plan Review

Incident Investigation Reports (see Homeport above)

Liferaft Facilities

MARPOL Certificates of Adequacy

Vessel Identification System (VIS)

America’s Maritime Guardian:… In the heartland… In the ports… On the seas… Around the globe

The Office of Investigation and Analysis

…oversees commercial vessel investigation processes within the Marine Safety Program, and conducts analyses of casualties and events in order to prevent them in the future.

We also conduct studies of marine safety activity data to determine the effectiveness of our outreach efforts as well as industry compliance.

Questions?

Jim Law is the senior analyst and acting Chief of the Compliance Analysis Division of the Office of Investigations and Analysis at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC. He is a subject matter expert in the development of the Coast Guard’s Business Performance Plan standard statistical packages, as well as the development of MSIS’s replacement MISLE and its analysis tools.

james law- coast guard prevention and investigation

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