Replies

Now, I would like to turn to our domestic counterpart of the ISPS Code, found in U.S. regulations and standards, codified in Title 33 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 101-104, better known as the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) regulations. From its inception, our regulations were written to be harmonized with the requirements of the ISPS Code. In aligning U.S. requirements with international requirements, the Coast Guard considered the best method of implementation would simply be to incorporate the ISPS Code provisions directly into our domestic regulations mandated by MTSA. And that’s exactly what we did. Therefore, a vessel meeting the requirements of the U.S. regulations is deemed to be in compliance with the ISPS Code. --Admiral Thomas Gilmour, May 10, 2005

I also thought it be best to add this, from Admiral Gilmour's presentation (of which you appear to be fond).

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the Commandant of the Coast Guard reaffirmed the maritime security mission to respond to threats posed by terrorist organizations, and our lead role in coordinating with other Federal, State, and local entities; owners and operators of vessels and marine facilities; and others with an interest in our Marine Transportation System. The Commandant came here, before the International Maritime Organization’s General Assembly, and urged the consideration of an international security strategy. Ultimately, a series of intersessional maritime security work group meetings, held at the direction of the Maritime Safety Committee, developed the new ISPS Code as an amendment to SOLAS.
Before each intersessional meeting, the Coast Guard held public meetings in the U.S. and coordinated several outreach meetings with representatives from major U.S. and foreign associations for shipping, labor, and port authorities. We also discussed maritime security at each of our Federal Advisory Committee meetings and held meetings with other Federal agencies with security responsibilities. Throughout this process, the Coast Guard received comments calling for specific threat identification, analysis, and performance standards to respond to maritime threats. Additionally, the domestic and international maritime industry stressed the importance of uniformity in the application and enforcement of requirements, and the need to establish threat levels with a means to communicate threat information to a variety of interest groups.
Because of the vast amount of public outreach and international coordination that went into its development, the Coast Guard considers the ISPS Code to reflect a consensus position, then and now. [emphasis in original]