Last month the Charleston, South Carolina Area Maritime Security Committee was named the 2017 AMSC of the Year, and Rear Adm. John Nadeau, assistant commandant for prevention policy, presented Committee representatives with the award during a ceremony July 9, 2018. Area Maritime Security Committees provide the framework for communication and collaboration necessary to ensure our nation’s ports remain secure and resilient. The exceptional and diverse accomplishments and unity of efforts across the Charleston AMSC area of responsibility is a model for excellence in public service and governance. In this post, we are sharing additional details about the Committee’s efforts that contributed to the security of the Nation’s critical Marine Transportation System.
Capt. John Reed, left, commanding officer of Sector Charleston; Mark Keel, chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division; Heather Holmquest, president of the Maritime Association of South Carolina, and Rear Adm. John Nadeau, assistant commandant for prevention policy. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Sector Charleston)
2017 Area Maritime Security Committee of the Year: Charleston Area Maritime Security Committee (AMSC)
The Charleston Area Maritime Security Committee advanced mutual public safety and security goals while expanding partnerships and increased operation efficiency through intelligence and information sharing across the Captain of the Port/Federal Maritime Security Coordinator zone. The AMSC implemented its Area Maritime Security Plan’s Radiological/Nuclear detection and response annex due to a real world incident involving an inbound foreign flagged container ship. AMSC partners initiated joint operational planning and joint intelligence/information sharing, fostering the successful deployment of radiological/nuclear capable agencies to create a land/waterside safety zone, evacuate a terminal, and establish a forward operating base to assess and mitigate the threat.
The AMSC cyber subcommittee collaborated with members from the White House National Security Council, Army Cyber Command, National Cyber Center of Excellence, and the U.S. Coast Guard Cyber Command to assist in efforts related to cyber prevention, protection, response, recovery, and resilience within the maritime domain. Additionally, the cyber subcommittee led efforts in leveraging Port Security Grant Program funds to establish a maritime-based cyber information-sharing portal through a newly formed AMSC member sponsored Maritime Transportation System-Information Sharing and Analysis Organization. This project will greatly improve the region’s maritime logistics supply chain cyber risk management posture both in policy and in practice and provides a model for other AMSCs to follow.
The AMSC communication subcommittee collaborated with the County Consolidated Dispatch and 911 Center to leverage Port Security Grant Program funds to deliver a new common operational picture asset called ALASTAR. The system delivers real-time situational awareness with analytic and predictive modeling capabilities by integrating real-time end-user inputs, 911 calls, first responder automatic vehicle location information, live weather data, infrastructure status, and public/private video feeds. The cumulative output drives daily operational use by participating agencies in a field or command post/watch floor setting.
This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.
