By Rich Hewitt
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Copyright 2006 Bangor Daily News
CASTINE, Maine — About 100 emergency response officers working Down East received an introduction to the world of maritime emergencies during a two-day, first-of-its-kind course at Maine Maritime Academy.
The Coast Guard-approved course, offered through the college’s continuing education department, provided an overview of maritime operations - on land and on board ship - for other, land-based officers likely to respond to a maritime incident.
The idea of the course is to bring a broad cross-section of people together and to get them talking, according to Jim Drinkwater of Guilford, a maritime security specialist who helped to develop and obtain approval for the course. Drinkwater works for MPACT, or Maritime Protection Auditing Consulting Training, a maritime consulting security firm.
“Especially in a rural state like Maine, when you’re talking about issues in the maritime domain, no one department has all the resources to deal with a problem,” Drinkwater said. “If we can pull them together and if they’re all on the same page, that makes them better prepared to handle something.”
The course initially was geared toward law enforcement officers but, Drinkwater said, they quickly realized that was too narrow a focus. In any emergency at a Maine port, other agencies, including a wide range of first responders, would quickly become involved.
“We realized that we needed to pick up the military and the first responder community,” he said.
The course was developed in response to federal transportation safety legislation to include training to handle terrorist activity, but the concepts of collaboration can be applied to any incident that occurs in or near a port.
The U.S. Coast Guard requires security and safety training for crew members serving on ships and for facility operators at U.S. ports, according to Ted Nease of MPACT, one of the instructors for the course.
“When something happens in the maritime domain, they have trained security officers and they have a security plan,” Nease said. “In a situation of a bomb or a weapon of mass destruction, they have a security plan and they will activate what they need to do. First responders come into that situation where the maritime officers already have their own security. When that happens, they need to be able to talk with each other.”
Maine has a long coastline, and while many see it as a summer playground, Drinkwater pointed out that the Maine coast is dotted with working harbors and large, deep-water ports. The Down East area, stretching from Penobscot Bay to Eastport, contains several potential terrorist targets as well as a number of ports that hold the potential for a serious maritime incident totally unrelated to terrorist activity.
Eastport is a deep-water port that handles millions of tons of cargo a year, much of it from foreign-flagged vessels; Bar Harbor welcomes thousands of passengers each year; and Mack Point handles millions of gallons of petroleum products annually. Bucksport is a deep-water port that regularly receives shipments of fuel.
“Is there the possibility of a catastrophic marine casualty here in Maine? A flood, a hurricane, a fire on a ship that endangers a port, or a fire on land? A disease on board a ship? Sure there is,” Drinkwater said. “We’re not insulated anymore.”
The course reviewed maritime conditions and operations, security policy and responsibilities along with vessel and security planning, threat identification and security equipment.
“There’s been a lot of good information,” said Mike Hangge, an Ellsworth firefighter who is also the operations officer for the Regional Response Team for Washington, Hancock and Waldo counties.
“We’ve got three of the four main ports in the state in that region. We need to be able to work alongside with all these groups,” he said. “This gives us a good idea of where we stand and what is out there for resources.”
Maine agencies often work together out of necessity, and have been doing so for a long time, said Craig Bowden, the fire chief in Bucksport. Having those local and state departments meeting with federal agencies adds a new aspect to that collaboration.
“It’s good to include the federal-level agencies into that,” Bowden said. “It enhances our efforts having them included, especially when it comes to dealing with on-board ship issues.”
Participants in the course receive Coast Guard certification and also receive continuing education credits through the college. This is a pilot project that also will be offered in Portland next week. Feedback from the participants will be used to refine the course, which then will be offered throughout the country.