Page 22 - Port of Baltimore Magazine May/June 2011

[22] The Port of Baltimore ■ May/June 2011 To subscribe or renew, visitwww.marylandports.com
AMaryland pilot received a U.S. Coast Guard
Certificate of Merit this past winter for assisting
with a water-bound rescue near Smith Island at the
mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.
On an icy January night, two people on board a
disabled sailboat, the Lion’s Pride, sent out a distress
call. The Coast Guard unit Station Crisfield dispatched a
41-foot boat, but, due to weather conditions, could not get
in touch with the sailboat. Capt. Randall Bourgeois, who
was piloting the Giant Ace in the rough seas, established
communication with the sailboat and relayed critical
information about its condition and that of the people on
board to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard boat initially couldn’t find the sailboat,
and Bourgeois, assisted by Apprentice Adam Lucas, used
the Giant Ace’s radar to locate the stricken boat some
four miles away. Station Crisfield then towed the boat to
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from cargo and operations to
the workers themselves. The
focus is not only interagency
cooperation, but also ensuring
compliance with federal and
state intermodal container,
truck, air, rail and hazardous
material regulations.
“We’ll open containers,
we’ll check manifests, we’ll
inspect TWIC cards,” said
Post, adding that other federal
agencies have their own
agendas for the MASFOs. “The
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration might inspect
a truck’s chassis to make sure
it’s safe. It’s a huge joint law
enforcement operation.”
At a MASFO in 2010,
620 TWIC credentials were
verified and 445 containers
were inspected. Four
containers were held because
of undeclared hazardous
materials, but the Coast Guard
uncovered only two minor
security violations: a worker
with an expired TWIC card and
an illegal substance found in a
vehicle.
Throughout the year,
Coast Guard teams conducted
306 Maritime Transportation
Security Act facility inspections.
Over the years, infractions
have been minor — an unes-
corted person, or an expired
TWIC card.
“We’ve had no major
violations,” Post said, “and the
credit really goes to the facilities
and the Port.”
The MPA sees a clear link
between security and the Port’s
success as a whole. “Having
a safe and secure Port has
a direct effect on economic
viability,” noted White, who had
additional praise for the Coast
Guard’s work. “Without the
daily, steadfast efforts of Sector
Baltimore, our Port would not
be able to maintain thousands
of family-supporting jobs and
be the economic engine for
Maryland that it is today.”
COURTESY OF U.S. COAST GUARD
COURTESY OF U.S. COAST GUARD
safety, assisted by
Station St. Inigoes.
The people on the
sailboat did not
require medical
attention.
The seas were so intense that the Coast Guard boat
suffered icing problems due to sea spray.
In presenting Bourgeois with a Certificate of Merit,
the Coast Guard said that the pilot’s help saved the Coast
Guard crew from wasting critical hours searching the
wrong area.
Pilot Assists Coast Guard with Rescue