New world for Coast Guard
By William Cole and Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writers
The small boat headed in the direction of the Bahamas-registered oil tanker Palmstar Lotus about two miles outside Honolulu Harbor.
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It probably didn't even know it was entering the security zone enforced by the Coast Guard around tankers coming to the Islands.
As the Coast Guard's Dolphin helicopter flies over Honolulu Harbor, BM1 Hari Colton mans the helm on a small boat dockside at Sand Island. The Dolphin has become a familiar sight to downtown office workers and residents since 9/11.
But the boat got the hint pretty quickly and turned away when the 110-foot cutter Kiska, armed with a 25 mm chain gun on its bow, made a beeline to head it off.
"This is just since September 11," said Cmdr. Thomas Tabrah, commanding officer of Coast Guard Group Honolulu, as he watched from another boat. "We did this once in a blue moon (before)."
The Coast Guard does it every day now.
A year after the terrorist attacks, it's just one example of the extra vigilance that's in place to protect Hawai'i's shores.
Sept. 11 resulted in a dramatic shift in the Coast Guard's traditional duties, which include search and rescue operations and illegal immigrant interdictions.
Before the attacks, the Coast Guard spent 4 percent of its time on domestic security. Since then, domestic security has taken up about 50 percent of its time.
In Hawai'i, more than 8,000 hours have been spent on homeland security patrols. More than 350 ships have been boarded and close to 700 cargo containers inspected.
The Coast Guard's four C-130 aircraft and four HH-65 Dolphin helicopters are flying more, and spending more time closer to Hawai'i's shores.
"We spend a large portion of our flight hours monitoring maritime traffic around the Islands," said Lt. Clint Trocchio, a C-130 pilot.
The Coast Guard, which has maintained the highest level of alert and continued the largest port security effort since World War II, now requires 96-hour advance arrival notice for foreign ships, as well as more information about the ship, cargo and people on board.
HH-65 pilot Lt. Olav Saboe said there are obvious visual clues that warrant further investigation.
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"We fly around tankers all the time, and there's usually not too many people on deck," he said. "If you were to fly along and all of a sudden you see a lot of people on deck, or it looks like it's floating a little higher out of the water, you are thinking, 'That ship is supposed to be coming in here fully loaded; why is it riding so high in the water?' Those are clues."
Coast Guard Petty Officer Jake Burg patrols near an oil tanker off Honolulu Harbor.The Coast Guard enforces a 1,000-yard security zone around tankers coming to the Islands.
After Sept. 11, every ship entering and leaving Honolulu Harbor had to be tracked and inspected.
"The job changed," said Chief Warrant Officer Michael Miyaji, a marine inspector at the harbor.
Miyaji had to start wearing a gun again, something he hadn't done in years.
Passenger and cargo manifests were painstakingly reviewed, and although new regulations and operating procedures eventually made the job a little easier, Miyaji worked days that stretched to 12, 15 or 18 hours through the autumn and early winter.
The Coast Guard finally was authorized extra manning for a service already stretched thin before 9/11. Miyaji is expecting 15 additional people, but they haven't arrived yet.
Outside the harbor, it's a much more visibly armed Coast Guard that ships encounter.
Stand-mounted, belt-fed M-60 machine guns that are visible these days on the Coast Guard's four-man 41-foot utility boats used to be stowed.
Similarly, .50-caliber machine guns on 110-foot patrol boats are mounted and ammunition is broken out, officials said.
"We're patrolling a lot more," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. Jacqueline Brunette. "There are daily harbor patrols and offshore patrols all hours of the day."
The Coast Guard will receive new aircraft and ships in Hawai'i as part of a $17 billion nationwide contract to bring far-reaching improvements to the agency over the next 20 years.
Lt. Stephen Adler, who commands the cutter Washington, said the stepped-up homeland security role makes for long days.
But sometimes, something happens to remind the "Coasties" it's worthwhile.
One day, as a cutter escorted a cruise ship into the harbor, shoppers and diners at Aloha Tower Marketplace stood and applauded.
"Personally, for me, there's a renewed sense of purpose after September 11," said Trocchio. "I knew before why we were out there, but now, it just strikes home that there's a very clear threat against American people, and I am just one cog in a large machine to protect the country."
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
