Marine Log - March 2008 - (Page 42)

SECURITY The GAO further confirmed the Coast Guard’s resource limitations when they found that at several ports, a lack of resources has hindered Coast Guard units from meeting the Coast Guard’s own requirements for security measures around LNG and other hazardous materials product tankers. As a result, the GAO emphasized that ICE CLASS TANKERS the Coast Guard needs additional resources to meet security requirements. As Chairman of the Subcommittee that oversees the Coast Guard, I am committed to helping the Coast Guard get these resources—and I note that the fiscal year 2008 appropriation for the Coast Guard was $7.469 billion—an amount which exceeded the President’s request. DON’T TAKE A RISK insure with FISK! • Commercial Watercraft • Workers Compensation: USL&H and MEL/Jones Act • Worldwide Package Policies • Excess Liability/Umbrellas • General Liability/Ship Repair • Contractor’s Equipment Coverage: Waterborne & Submerged • Full Range of Employee Benefits: L i f e , H e a l t h , Disability, Dental, Vision & More John W. Fisk Company Insurance 4833 Conti Street New Orleans, LA 70119 Toll free: 888.486.5411 Phone: 504.486.5411 Fax: 504.482.1475 Since 1952 However, the GAO noted that we also need a national plan that takes a comprehensive look at the Coast Guard’s nationwide resource needs and identifies milestones and funding requirements to meet these needs. Further, the GAO recommends that we develop a national resource allocation plan to meet the security requirements created by the proposed expansion of LNG facilities and shipments. These are recommendations that I fully support. However, as I argued earlier this year, we also need a national policy on terminal sitings. Right now, we have a situation in which incentives have been created to promote both off-shore and on-shore sitings—and to pursue a host of different objectives through these incentives. And this bring us back to balance— and the need for partnership. If we have decided to increase the number of terminal sitings, we need a national policy that addresses all of the issues—particularly the security considerations—that these sitings raise. We should never be in a situation in which we are approving new projects without making adequate provision for the security of these projects. And that means in this case that we need to require all federal agencies involved in this process—including FERC and the Coast Guard—to work together to achieve what should be—and again I use this phrase—their common objectives. Security cannot be an after-thought when new projects are being built—not in the post 9/11 world. And we cannot have a situation in which the Coast Guard is passing off its responsibilities to agencies that are not prepared to meet them. For that reason, I included in the 2007 Coast Guard Reauthorization Act, H.R. 2830, a provision that would prohibit the Coast Guard from approving a facility security plan for an LNG terminal until the service has certified that the Coast Guard sector in which the terminal is located has all of the assets it needs to provide security around the terminal and around LNG tankers serving the terminals when they are traveling in Coast Guard-imposed security zones. I strongly believe that in the absence of national policies on LNG, this is a reasonable and frankly overdue requirement. ML www.jwfisk.com www.marinelog.com 42 MARINE LOG MARCH 2008 http://www.jwfisk.com http://www.jwfisk.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - March 2008

Marine Log - March 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Navy's Toughest Battle Building Future Fleet Less Fuel, Lower Emissions A New Generation of Mariners Training for the Future LNG Security: Resources Needed Models of Perfection Tech News Newsmakers Contracts Events Infodirect Website Directory ML Marketplace Opinion

Marine Log - March 2008

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