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Statement of Capabilities: The
maritime security industry has been revolutionized by the recent implementation
of the MTSA of 2002. Many security and non-security consultants jumped on the
bandwagon to make quick buck, despite their lack of understanding of these new
regulations. Now, as these facilities attempt to run their businesses under the
regulations, the consultant industry does not have the breadth of knowledge or
understanding of the inner-workings of how to manage a maritime security program
for their clients. Our staff assisted the US Coast Guard interpret and
implement this regulation and are now prepared to share this experience with
facility owners. We provide services from the initial Facility Security
Assessment and Facility Security Plan Development to ongoing Training, Audits,
Exercises and Amendments. This model allows you to deal with a single subject
matter expert that tailors its services to your facility, allowing you to spend
your time running your business. Whether you need an Audit of your FSP or a
Waterway Suitability Assessment, were here to help keep your business on course.
Facility and Vessel Security
Assessments (FSA): We trained the US Coast Guardsmen and women that support
this legislation to use a very simple tool for conducting an FSA/VSA. In fact,
we were requested by the US Coast Guard to write a guide for publication on the
USCG MTSA web site. First, we identify the things you need to protect, second we
over lay these assets with the resources you have to protect them. As you hold
them up to the threat, the gaps are your vulnerabilities. We have trained
hundreds of US Coast Guardsmen and facility security officers on our techniques
and are ready to share them with you. We start to assess your facility by
determining the reason you were directed to comply with the MTSA2002 and then
move on to identify other areas that may be exploited to cause a Transportation
Security Incident (TSI). We then consider those assets you need to mitigate a
TSI. These are the main things that require protection. Our FSA then shifts
towards the resources available to protect these critical assets. This Facility
Security Assessment is compiled into a report which serves as a reference
document for developing the Facility Security Plan.
Facility and Vessel Security Plans (FSP/VSP):
Your Security Plan is the play book for deterring, detecting, and defending your
facility against a TSI. We will evaluate your FSA and identify the shortfalls
in your existing security measures and recommend those measures that are both
cost effective and effective. Our true value comes to the surface when we apply
our in-depth understanding of the regulations, policy decisions, interpretations
and industry best practices in developing your FSP. Since our staff has
collectively reviewed over 1000 facility security plans for the USCG, we know
what these valuable documents must contain. We will meticulously address each
subchapter of the CFR and develop a plan that mitigates your risk while not
breaking your budget. Finally, we will manage the FSP approval process between
your company and the USCG approving authority until it is accepted by all
cognizant parties. Now that we have your plan in place we won’t abandon you.
The true value of our staff comes to light as we look at the maintenance phase
of your new security program. Security is a cycle that is ever changing. To
adapt to these changes, you need a team of professionals that can make an
objective assessment of how your program must adapt to the changes in your
business, the industry, personnel, and the threat.
Facility/Vessel Security Readiness
Programs: Now that your plan is in place, you must ensure it remains
current to address any changes in the industry, your assets, or the threat. The
USCG governs WHAT you must do to ensure your plan remains effective, but we
provided them with the analysis and training on how to do it. Listed below are
those readiness tools that are mandated by the governing regulations and a
description as to how we can best manage them for your assets.
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Training: The backbone of your security plan is well
trained employees. We will develop customized training for your FSO, your
employees with security duties and your employees without security duties. No
more paying costly travel expenses to send a new employee to an infomercial o
the regulation. We will train your employees on the tactics, techniques, and
procedures that we taught to the USCG. We have the benefit if having seen those
security practices that demonstrate best practices in the MTSA industry and will
use this valuable information to customize your training. Once again, we won’t
tell you WHAT to do, you can read that in the regulation, we will train you HOW
to do it with best practices from the entire industry. If you are
tired of having a "consultant" read you a regulation, call our training
department today!
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Drills: Your facility or vessel must conduct a drill
every three months to aid you in assessing the effectiveness of your security
program. By having us manage your security readiness programs, we will
understand the level of training of your personnel and capabilities of your
security systems. This information allows us to craft a drill that tests those
key security measures based on the consequence found on your assets and the
weaknesses in your training plan. We will ensure that you receive the proper
documentation for your official records as required by the USCG and go one step
further; by having us manage your readiness program, we will use this
information to make adjustments to your training and exercise programs to
constantly refine your plan. If any of these efforts ever results in a
recommended amendment, we will manage the amendment process from draft to
approval as well.
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Exercises: Your facility or vessel must engage in an
exercise each calendar year with no more than 18 months between exercises. We
understand the relationship between training, drills, and exercises and leverage
this knowledge to develop an exercise that truly assesses the true state of
readiness of your security program. This exercise will evaluate the security
measures, personnel, and decisions made by company leadership in a simulated
attack against your vessel or facility. In addition to the requisite paperwork
for the USCG records, we will provide an detailed after action review of your
state of readiness and adjust the training and drills for the months to come to
meet any lessons learned while striving to maintain any identified best
practices.
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Audits: The annual audit requirement is the final
check that evaluates how well the effectiveness of the security readiness
program and accurately addresses the security requirements for the facility. We
analyze your security plan from two approaches. First, we evaluate the written
plan to ensure that it addresses the areas of consequence on the vessel or
facility. In other words is the plan effective, by design. Then we go beyond
the paper chase and actually evaluate how well the plan is implemented. If the
plan states screening is done at 100%, we check to make sure that the plan is
being implemented as written. This not only offers a great spot check on the
readiness of your security program, it also alerts you to potential violations
for which the USCG may fine you if they see any improprieties in how the plan is
written or implemented.
Amendments: By having us manage
all the aspects of your security program that may generate a change, it only
makes sense that we manage your amendments to your security plans as well.
After each drill, training session, exercise or audit, we provide your staff
with detailed feedback on our findings as well as any recommended amendments or
changes to the plan. We will draft the amendment, notify the USCG and submit
the document for their review. We will then manage the approval process and
update and distribute the new FSP.
Waterway Suitability Assessments:
Liquid Natural Gas has recently become a much more lucrative source of energy
and Americans cannot get enough of it. We will analyze the levels of
consequence, threats and hazards, and vulnerabilities to develop a comprehensive
risk management plan that is acceptable to FERC, the USCG and your business.
Offshore Platform Security: From
the Caspian Sea to the Niger Delta, the risk of extracting petrochemicals from
offshore sources continues to rise. Our comprehensive security plans
leverage the latest technology and skilled professionals to guard these valuable
resources against a broad threat spectrum from petty thieves to armed militia.
Conclusion: Many security
consultants tout about their decades of experience in the industry or years of
service in the USCG. While we thank them for their service, most of them never
received any training on implementing the MTSA of 2002. Since we trained the
few USCG inspectors in the force today and assisted their leaders in
implementing this revolutionary legislation, we are uniquely positioned to
assist your company in developing and managing your Maritime Security Program.
Whether your resources are vessels, facilities, or offshore platforms, we are
here to help.
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