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Responding immediately to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the Coast Guard designed and fielded a new organization to establish or reinforce security measures at major U.S. ports on short notice: the Maritime Safety and security Team (MSST). Each MSST is a self-contained rapid-response force of approximately 100 active and reserve Coast Guard personnel that combines selected capabilities of the service's port security units and law enforcement detachments.
Port security and defense of U.S. maritime assets are not new missions for the Coast Guard. It has accomplished those tasks for more than 211 years. They have, however, become more vital and visible since the terrorist attacks of 11 September. Some 361 major ports are part of the maritime transportation system, which handles the overwhelming majority of U.S. overseas trade.
Many of these harbors are critical military sealift ports for war materials destined for overseas operations. They are potentially vulnerable because roughly 7,500 foreign ships, manned by some 200,000 foreign sailors, enter them every year to offload six million truck-size cargo containers. Maritime commerce passing through U.S. ports and transiting internal waterways is crucial to the nation's economy, and protecting the maritime transportation system is a key component of homeland security.
MSST Organization & Mission
As part of the Department of Homeland security's layered strategy, the Coast Guard has fielded eight MSSTs:
* Seattle, Washington
* Chesapeake, Virginia
* Los Angeles/Long Beach, California
* Galveston, Texas
* Port of New York/New Jersey
* St. Mary's, Georgia
* Boston, Massachusetts
* San Francisco, California
Five more teams are scheduled for activation in the near future:
* Anchorage, Alaska
* San Diego, California
* Miami, Florida
* Honolulu, Hawaii
* New Orleans, Louisiana
In recognition of their creation in response to the 11 September attacks, each team designation begins with 911-for example, the Seattle Team is 91101 and the Galveston Team is 91104. Their mission is to enforce security zones (moving and fixed), defend critical waterside facilities in strategic ports, protect military load-outs,...