GAO Urges Coast Guard to Partner With Local Entities to Implement Vessel Identification System

By Marina Malenic
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard could help to reduce federal costs and expedite implementation of a system to identify ships heading through U.S. waters by seeking partnerships with local organizations willing to develop system infrastructure at their own expense, the Government Accountability Office said in a report last month (see GSN, Feb. 6).

The Automatic Vessel Identification System was mandated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and by the International Maritime Organization. It is aimed at deterring terrorism by enabling the Coast Guard to monitor vessels traveling to or in U.S. waters by using ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore radio signals at designated frequencies. 

The system currently covers only a small portion of the 12,375 miles of U.S. coastline and 25,000 miles of river or inland shoreline, according to congressional auditors. The Coast Guard is seeking to expand the system beyond the 10 areas now covered. However, the system’s total cost and full development schedule are not known because the program’s implementation remains in its early stages, according to the GAO report.

To reduce potential federal costs, the agency urged the Coast Guard to seek partnerships with local public and private organizations that would be willing to assume some portion of the expense and responsibility for installing AIS equipment. Port entities in Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif., Tampa, Fla., and Portland, Ore., have demonstrated or expressed interest, the GAO report says.

In addition to concerns about cost, licensing regulations are affecting system implementation, according to the congressional auditors. The Federal Communications Commission in 1998 auctioned licenses to two radio frequencies designated by the International Telecommunication Union for AIS communications to MariTEL, Inc., a private company, for a 10-year term. MariTEL and the Coast Guard have been negotiating use of the frequencies, but the commission is expected to address unresolved issues in the dispute this summer, according to the GAO report.

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