The USCG has been patrolling the Long Island sound for as long as I can remember. There are something like ten Coast Guard Units scattered across the south shore of CT and the north shore of Long Island, plus the academy in New London, CT.
We recently got a new coast guard boat:
Rell Tours New Haven Harbor For Homeland Security Readiness
http://www.nbc30.com/politics/3740370/detail.html
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- About 600 foreign ships visit Connecticut's three major ports each year, and they now come in under new maritime security rules that are designed to find contraband, catch stowaways and detect threats to the nation's security
One such ship, the Greek tanker Samaria, loomed large in New Haven Harbor Friday, slowly pumping its hazardous cargo -- 225,000 barrels of gasoline -- into storage tanks along the shore.
Two painted signs onboard demanded: "NO SMOKING."
Gov. M. Jodi Rell got a close-up look Friday at the state's latest asset to harbor security, a $190,000, 25-foot Coast Guard security boat that is fast and maneuverable to patrol Long Island Sound and to respond to emergencies.
The Coast Guard took Rell out on the new boat and up alongside the Samaria so she could get an idea of the enormity of the security task.
The governor said the tour gave her a new appreciation for the work the Coast Guard does.
"It's neat to have a different vantage point, to be able to see the harbor from that side," Rell said.
The Coast Guard will deploy such security boats in New Haven, Bridgeport and New London harbors in the coming year, said Lt. Mark Shepard.
The harbors together handle about 1,200 commercial vessels a year, half of them flying under foreign flags.
Enough fuel to fill half a million tanker trucks arrives by water to Connecticut each year.
The money for the new security boats come from the Department of Homeland Security, which now oversees the Coast Guard.
Since July, new regulations have mandated changes in the way the Coast Guard handles port security, said Adm. David Pekoske, district commander.
The strategy is to manage as many security details as the Coast Guard can while the ship is offshore.
A vessel gives four days notice before it plans to come into a port, which gives the Coast Guard time to study the ship's travels, cargo, crew and history.
The Coast Guard then can determine if it needs to board a ship at sea or in port, Pekoske said.
Each ship must have a security plan before it can come into port, and each port has a maritime security committee, made up of state and local leaders and industry leaders, to plan and prepare for any emergencies, said Capt. Peter Boynton, captain of the port for the Connecticut and Long Island, N.Y. ports on Long Island Sound.
Rell said homeland security remains the state's and the nation's top priority.
She said her meeting with Coast Guard leaders will help her make the case to the state's congressional delegation and to the Bush administration that more staff and aid is needed.
Yes, and they will pull you over, for drunk-sailing :)