The NMSAC Year in Review

As 2008 draws to a close, I figured I'd give a wrap up of the work the NMSAC accomplished this year.


This year we welcomed 6 new committee members, bringing our total number of committee members to 21! (on a side note, I'm going to start a regular "meet your committee" segment on the blog, so you can get to know who's who).


NMSAC was tasked with several items in 2008 (some of which I've discussed in previous blog entries). The first was an identification of the greatest national maritime security concerns that will be confronting the industry in the next two years. At it’s April meeting, the committee identified 8 issues that they felt were significant to the Maritime Industry, you can read about it here:

The second was an analysis of the Transportation Security User Fee Study requirement identified by Title XIII, Section 1308 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. NMSAC recommended, “…that the Department not consider the development of a new security user fee or a new ‘system of maritime security and transportation-related user fees’”. This information was used to inform the Department as it conducted its User Fee study. You can find the complete report here.

NMSAC was also tasked to develop a working group to examine and quantify the extent to which the issue of seafarer’s access to shore leave is a problem and develop a set of reasonable solutions/recommendations that the Department can use in addressing the issue. You can read that blog post here.


The NMSAC TWIC Working Group submitted a report at the request of TSA and the Coast Guard to provide a “health check” of the TWIC program as it continued its roll out. The report highlighted multiple issues that have either been addressed or are being addressed by TSA and the Coast Guard. You can read about it here. The dialogue between the TWIC working group and the Department will continue as this program matures.



On a final note, As directed by Congress in the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, The authorization for NMSAC's existance was set to expire on September 30, 2008. NMSAC Staff worked with Coast Guard Legislative staff to incorporate language into the most recent CG Authorization bill that would reauthorize the committee until 2020. Congressional approval was unable to be secured for the bill (both versions of which had the language re-authorizing the committee). As a result, the CG was forced to restructure the charter of the Committee re-establishing it as a discretionary committee until such time as legislative authorization is secured. The new Charter was signed on September 30, 2008.



So, what's on the agenda for NMSAC in the future? Well, we're still chugging along on this Social Media train. We've got a few plans in the works to include regular podcasts, videos, and guests posts from CG staff and our committee members. I also recently linked up this blog via twitterfeed to my Twitter account to push the word out on the excellent work the committee is doing. If you have any additional suggestions, please let me know, I can always use good ideas!



Have a Great Holidays, everyone! We'll see you in 2009!

TWIC, TWIC, baby

I'm going to start this entry off with 1 ground rule:

Please do not ask me to try and find out the status of your TWIC enrollment, I won't do it. If you need information, please call the TWIC hot line at: 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942). You can also check out their website at www.tsa.gov/twic. Finally, you can shoot them an email at credentialing@dhs.gov.

Bottom line, I'm just here to give you a breakdown of what NMSAC has done to advance the TWIC effort, I am not a TWIC insider (nor would I ever, in my wildest dreams, wish to be).

So, now that we have that out of the way, let's begin with NMSAC and TWIC...

NMSAC has been involved with TWIC almost from it's (NMSAC's) inception. Two years ago, NMSAC was tasked to:

"Develop a contactless biometric specification for the TWIC. Working with the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard, augment the Credentialing Work Group, or form a new work group with appropriate members of the biometric industry, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to perform this work, applying expertise both from the biometric credentialing industry and maritime industry TWIC stakeholders. Provide an opportunity for public comment on a draft specification and incorporate comments into a final specification. The specification developed shall be:
a. Non-proprietary;
b. Incorporating appropriate security and privacy controls;
c. Interoperable with FIPS 201-1;
d. Capable of being a platform for future capabilities;
e. Capable of supporting maritime operations;
f. Suitable for manufacturing."

In response, NMSAC provided this response. For the most part, DHS has tried to address most of the concerns brought up by NMSAC.

A report , issued by the NMSAC's TWIC working group, in response to a tasking to provide a “health check” on the TWIC roll out endeavor, however, seemed to highlight some miscommunication between DHS and the general public. Suffice it to say the report generated quite a buzz in the media...

At the September 18 meeting, a joint TSA/USCG response was submitted back to the NMSAC to help address the laundry list of issues brought forward by the TWIC working group. The report highlights that many of the issues raised by the working group are documented and if not already resolved, are being worked on by TSA and the CG to be resolved.

What's next? A follow on WG is scheduled next month to go more in depth to the TSA/CG response, hopefully more information can be reported on then. For those of you who want more detailed information on the TWIC roll out and implementation, I would suggest checking out the TWIC dashboard, a useful tool that provides regular updates. You can find that and more at http://www.tsa.gov/twic

Future Maritime Security Issues

Back in December of ’07, the USCG tasked the NMSAC to identify the top issues that they see in the future for maritime security, specifically:

“The Coast Guard desires to be forward leaning and anticipatory of future trends/policy issues on maritime concerns that will confront the Department in the coming years and will require NMSAC’s attention. This committee’s subject matter knowledge affords the ability to identify those issues and recommend topics for consideration of future NMSAC meetings. The committee is requested to address the following:

1. In the next 2 years, what will be the biggest concerns confronting industry on matters affecting national maritime security and the USCG.
2. Of these concerns, please identify which topics NMSAC should take up for discussion and recommendation.”

You can read the entire task statement here.

In April, the Committee responded, identifying 8 key areas that are of particular interest to the Maritime Industry:

1. Efficient and Effective Implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program and the necessary card reading infrastructure.
2. Incident response planning and communications
3. Vessel Boarding Policies and Joint Command Centers with CBP.
4. Five year review of the ISPS Code at the International Maritime Organization.
5. Implementation of the Long Range Information and Tracking (LRIT).
6. The Port Security Grant Program (PSGP).
7. Subchapter H Regulations and Policy.
8. Seafarer Rights and Fair Treatment
   

I’ll take the time in the following blog posts to update you on the status of each of these issues as they addressed by the USCG and NMSAC.