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SAN FRANCISCO BAY - Strict new security measures for U.S. ports start today In Bay Area, closer scrutiny of ships and cargo facilities.

Published in the San Francisco Chronicle on 07/01/04

SAN FRANCISCO BAY
Strict new security measures for U.S. ports start today In Bay Area, closer scrutiny of ships and cargo facilities

Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, July 1, 2004

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Two new sets of security regulations go into effect today in every seaport in the country -- but the change will be so gradual that ordinary citizens won't notice immediately.

In the Bay Area, every port facility, every oil refinery and nearly every maritime business is affected -- a total of 72 facilities.

One set of regulations is from the Coast Guard and the other from the International Maritime Organization, an agency of the United Nations.

"Our nation's seaports are very vulnerable to terrorist attack,'' said Rear Adm. Kevin Eldridge, commander of the Coast Guard's region 11. "This threat comes very close to home for those of us living in the San Francisco Bay Area. An attack ... could have a serious physical as well as economic impact."

The major thrust of the new Coast Guard regulations is on ships and maritime facilities that are all required to have Coast Guard-approved security plans. Generally, said Coast Guard Lt. Alexia Littlejohn, this means tighter identification checks, more guards on duty and other measures.

Any facility that doesn't have such plans can be shut down, but so far all the Bay Area operations are in compliance, Littlejohn said.

The Coast Guard will also tighten its inspection of commercial ships flying foreign flags. For the past three years, many of these ships -- the Coast Guard calls them "vessels of interest'' -- have been boarded by sea marshals outside the Golden Gate. Starting today, however, the Coast Guard will inspect ships pulling into a U.S. port for the first time. Littlejohn said that means inspection of about two additional ships a day in San Francisco.

Most ships that have called at U.S. ports before have already filed the required documents, the Coast Guard said.

About 4,000 foreign-flag ships call at San Francisco Bay a year, carrying millions of tons of cargo and an estimated 600 million barrels of crude oil.

Though the Coast Guard is primarily interested in big ships, the new regulations also cover smaller commercial vessels, particularly ferry boats.

There will be more surveillance cameras at terminals, tighter control of public areas near ferry landings, and a bigger law enforcement presence on the boats.

Most passengers won't notice the measures during routine times. But when the Department of Homeland Security issues one of its alerts -- a condition called "Marsec Two,'' similar to an "orange alert" condition -- passengers and crew may be subjected to random screening and search of material they bring on board.

An orange alert, or a time of heightened security threat, was in effect for several weeks around Christmas.

There are also higher alert conditions, including a "Marsec Three," which call for more draconian measures, including screening all passengers with metal detectors.

The imposition of new Coast Guard regulations for U.S. ports goes into effect at the same time another set of rules -- the International Ship and Port Security Code -- is activated.

This requires that all commercial ships of all countries have security programs in place. These new rules, which require documentation of ports, crews and cargo, are described as the toughest since World War II. The rules were published by the International Maritime Organization.

However, no agency is sure how many of the world's 20,000 covered vessels have complied with the law, and many of the world's largest ports are not in compliance.

"Ports are vulnerable by their nature,'' said Tanner Campbell, vice president of the Washington-based Maritime Intelligence Group, a consulting firm. "And terrorists are no strangers to maritime trade.''

Strict enforcement of the code, which requires inspection and documentation, could cause major disruptions at world ports, particularly in Europe and Asia, according to his company. And, Campbell warned, the codes are based on the "trusted agent'' concept, which means port security authorities must trust ship owners and operators and accept their word -- an increasingly troublesome problem when ships are registered in tiny countries or fly the flag of countries in a perpetual state of anarchy.

"The (international) rules are a great step in the right direction, but they cannot guarantee safety,'' he said.

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