Coast Guard to expand operations in Hawai'i
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
About 80 new Coast Guard personnel and six speedy 25-foot boats packing extra firepower will be added to Honolulu port security by the end of the year as part of national homeland security efforts.
Vice Adm. Terry M. Cross, the Coast Guard's Pacific commander, said yesterday that Honolulu, San Diego and Alaska are getting the specialized Maritime Safety & Security Teams, which were created in response to the 9/11 attacks and are part of a layered strategy to protect America's seaports and waterways.
Among other Pacific regions, Seattle, San Francisco and the Los Angeles/Long Beach area have teams in position.
The MSST to some extent will allow other Coast Guard boats to return to more traditional missions, Cross said.
Before 9/11, port and waterway security accounted for less than 5 percent of the Coast Guard's mission, Cross said. After the attacks, that focus jumped to nearly 50 percent, but Cross said that has dropped as manpower, financing and efficiency were increased.
MSSTs are staffed with about 100 Coast Guard personnel, including some reservists. Crews are armed with machine guns and shotguns. The 25-foot boats they use are intended for rapid response and can be transported via C-130 aircraft. Adding bomb-sniffing dogs for vessel checks also is being considered.
"(The MSSTs) are a little more specialized," Cross said. "You can also think of them in terms of reinforcements — additional folks coming on line. And that's important because we've entered a period where we're going to have to do a lot more vessel and facility inspections to enforce the Maritime Transportation Security Act."
Shipping businesses have to develop new security plans for operations around harbors under the act, and the Coast Guard has estimated ports will need to spend $5.4 billion over 10 years on enhanced security.
About 75 businesses and agencies in Hawai'i and American Samoa have to comply with the requirement. Plans have to be approved by July 1 in order to conduct business.
The District 14 Coast Guard region has about 1,150 active-duty personnel and 150 reservists — about 90 percent of them in Hawai'i.
Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer David Mosley said the MSST "is a huge advancement toward vessel security in the harbor."
Cross said facilities at the Sand Island Coast Guard station will be expanded for the MSST. A building is being constructed for engineering shops and some administrative space.
Coast Guard officials said the MSST will be one of the most visible changes to come to Hawai'i as the service gears up for the ambitious overhaul known as the "Deepwater Program" to replace the Coast Guard's aging fleet of ships and aircraft and add new command and control systems.
An $11 billion contract was awarded in June 2002 for the program, which will include upgrades to ships, HH-65 Dolphin helicopters and C-130 aircraft in Hawai'i, and the replacement of the 378-foot cutters Jarvis and Rush.
Cross said the first new Pacific-based "National Security" cutter is expected in 2006 or 2007.
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
