DHS releases two maritime strategy documents
The Department of Homeland Security announced that eight plans spelling out the government’s National Maritime Security Strategy have been completed and approved.
Plans cover maritime commerce, transportation systems, infrastructure recovery, domestic and international outreach, domain awareness, intelligence integration and threat response. The documents do not tread any new ground as they essentially are recitations of current policies designed to protect cargo, ports and vessels from a terrorist attack.
Only two of the plans were publicly available.
DHS plans to unveil the maritime commerce plan next week during the Trade Symposium in Washington, an annual policy gathering hosted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Andrea McArdle. The infrastructure recovery plan is undergoing extra review after Hurricane Katrina to make sure it includes lessons learned from that disaster, she said. Other plans will be rolled out during the next couple of weeks.
The plans included input from 20 government agencies and the private sector.
DHS officials have said they plan to seek advice from industry on how to implement some of the plans.
To view the plans, go to http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0608.xml