A STEP in the Right Direction

Story By PA1 Dana Warr, D7 Public Affairs

MIAMI -- Some may say preventive maintenance is essential to the overall success of any operation which in turn can be applied to almost all port stakeholders within the more than 361 sea ports in the United States.

The Coast Guard uses preventive maintenance religiously at the ports by holding systematic inspections, corrections of elementary failures and maintaining compliance of U.S. and foreign vessels, all while finding the appropriate balance between security and the free flow of commerce.

MIAMI -- Coast Guard members from Coast Guard Sector Maimi participate in PortSTEP, the first fully facilitated Port Security Training Exercise Program in Maimi. U.S. Coast Guard photograph by PA3 James Judge.

According to Capt. Liam Slein, deputy sector commander of Coast Guard Sector Miami, preventive maintenance needs to be routine and should include periodic exercises.

To help accomplish this, the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration hosted the first fully-facilitated Port Security Training Exercise Program (PortSTEP) in Miami, March 1.   South Florida was selected as the first of among 40 locations nation-wide.  

"PortSTEP is designed to benefit maritime and surface transportation security communities throughout the U.S. via a suite of training exercises, evaluations and accompanying information technology products," said Noreen Brown, TSA's PortSTEP Project Officer.

PortSTEP focused on building links within the Area Maritime Security (AMS) Committee and aligning with the nation's infrastructure protection policies and programs tailored toward America's ports and maritime community.

"The exercise went very well," said Slein, who was the Principal Federal Official during PortSTEP.  "It had direct maritime relevance.  A wide cross-section of port and other intermodal stakeholder's participation broadened the impact of the exercise."

Exercise venues were established at Coast Guard Sector Miami, the City of Miami Police Department Emergency Operations Center and the Miami-Dade Police Department Emergency Operations Center.

More than 35 federal, state and local agencies in South Florida came together during the one-day event including participation from Customs and Border Protection, Department of Health and Human Services, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, City of Miami, Port of Miami, Miami-Dade Police Department and Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue.

Because of the magnitude of the exercise and the number of agencies being represented, a unified command was established and all participants quickly engaged with each other and formed the unified command to test realistic scenarios during the event.

Using the Incident Command System, agencies' representatives worked together evaluating various security plans already in place throughout South Florida ports and maritime communities.  Some of the plans tested were the Area Maritime Security Plan (AMSP) and the Southeast Regional Domestic Security Task Force Communications Plan.

MIAMI -- The Unified Command consisted of members from the FBI, Coast Guard, Miami Dade Police Dept. Miami Dade Fire Rescue, Miami Police and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. U.S. Coast Guard photograph by PA3 James Judge.

Scenarios ranged from how officials reacted to discovering a suspect cargo container to an explosion of a cargo container while being off-loaded from a vessel.

"Because passengers and cargo travel via ship, motor vehicles and aircraft through the seaports, this exercise helped participants better understand how a variety of scenarios would influence economic impact," said Slein.  "As a result of this exercise, maritime, surface and air transportation organizations, as well as security organizations, have a better appreciation of what they would do and what they need to consider should a real-world situation occur."

To help with the scenarios during the exercise, live video feeds were provided simultaneously to the three venues established around Miami-Dade county.  Local news reporters also participated in the exercise by providing "simulated interviews" which helped participants have some realism to the exercise.

"This exercise validates that stakeholder preparedness and port security have improved since the implementation of the Maritime Transportation Safety Act in 2004," said Slein.  "As a direct result, Florida ports are more secure today than ever."

He also felt that periodic exercises help all port organizations focus on what is working well and what needs more attention and improvement.  Slein continued to say that exercises help stakeholders evaluate everyone's ability to communicate and cooperate to maximize protective measures within ports and minimize economic impact as a result of increased security measures.

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