Monitoring Small Vessels Still a Challenge for Coast Guard, Says GAO
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By Stew Magnuson and Ashleigh Fugate
The Department of Homeland Security has spent billions of dollars on technology and databases to defend against the illicit transportation of nuclear or radiological material in shipping containers.
Former Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen stated in testimony before Congress that small vessels, however, pose a greater threat for nuclear smuggling than large container ships.
The Government Accountability Office has found that few resources are being devoted to the small vessel threat.
Small vessels, generally defined as being under 40 tons, are hard to monitor and track, noted GAO’s Stephen Caldwell, director of homeland security and justice issues. They can be used to smuggle terrorists into the United States, as water-borne improvised explosive devices, a standoff platform for launching attacks, and the aforementioned scenario where weapons — conventional or unconventional — are snuck into U.S. waters.
DHS released a Small Vessel Security Strategy more than two years ago, but it has been in bureaucratic limbo ever since. It was recently sent to the Office of Budget and Management where it awaits approval, Caldwell told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
Two Coast Guard pilot programs that tested tracking systems could not adequately detect small vessels, Caldwell added. Some, but not all, ports have radars and cameras in place that can track small boats, but they do not always work in bad weather or at night, he noted.
There is “widespread agreement among maritime stakeholders that it is very difficult to detect threatening activity by small vessels without prior knowledge of a planned attack,” Caldwell added.
In addition, a community outreach plan that would have asked boaters to look out for suspicious activity and report it to authorities, America’s Waterway Watch, lost its funding.
Meanwhile, a three-year DHS pilot program that uses sensors to detect nuclear and radiological materials in small boats is wrapping up this year, Caldwell said. Initial feedback from users has been positive, he added.