SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Delegation members take a group photo with Coast Guard personnel at Coast Guard Base San Juan Oct. 7 during a two-day European Union International Port Security visit to Puerto Rico. Front row from left to right: Winnie Vestergaard, Danish Coastal Authority Head of Department; Head of Delegation Christian Dupont, European Commission Deputy Head of Unit-Land Maritime Security; and Giancarlo Russo, Italian Coast Guard Safety and Security Department Head Office PSC.  Second Row from left to right: Capt. Drew W. Pearson, Sector San Juan Commander; Lt. Cmdr. Jose Perez, Activities-Europe International Port Security Liaison; Michel Perolat, European Commission Policy Officer; Jean-Baptiste Roche, European Commission Maritime Security Inspector. Third row from left to right: Anthony Victor Smith, United Kingdom Department of Transport Senior Maritime Security Adviser; Dieter Hentschel, Hansestadt Bremishes Hafenamt Security Officer; Lt. Cmdr. John Bower, Atlantic Area International Port Security Liasion and Luis Parrales, Sector San Juan Chief of Inspections. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Ricardo Castrodad, Sector San Juan public affairs specialist).

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Coast Guard Sector San Juan hosted delegates from the European Union during a two-day International Port Security visit to port facilities in Puerto Rico Oct. 6 and 7.

“Port and Facility Security cannot be the responsibility of one entity and it is the fostering of partnerships between nations such as the U.S. and the European Union that helps create a common goal in conducting and sharing effective port and facility security measures,” said Lt. Cmdr. Luis Parrales, Sector San Juan chief of inspections division.  “This visit represents a professional exchange of best practices between countries and the continued pursuit to increase port and facility security not only for our respective countries but for all the nations that have vessels transiting to and from our ports.”

The European delegation consisted of representatives from France, Head of Delegation Christian Dupont, European Commission Deputy Head of Unit-Land and Maritime Security; Michel Perolat, European Commision Policy Officer; Jean-Baptiste Roche, European Commission Maritime Security Inspector; from Denmark, Winnie Vestergaard, Danish Coastal Authority Head of Department; from Italy, Giancarlo Russo, Italian Coast Guard Safety and Security Department Head Office PSC; from Germany, Dieter Hentschel, Hansestadt Bremishex Hafenamt Security Officer; and from the United Kingdom, Anthony Victor Smith, Department of Transport Senior Maritime Security Adviser. 

The International European Union Port Security delegation received a tour of San Juan Harbor and visited the Puerto Rico Ports Authority Cruise Ship Terminal in San Juan, the Horizon Lines container facility in Puerto Nuevo and the Total Petroleum  Puerto Rico Corp. facilitiy in Cataño.  The delegates were introduced to the Facility Security Officers, who provided presentations as to how security measures are implemented at their respective facilities. This gave the European delegates a great opportunity to compare and share best practices in their implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) to that of the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) implemented in the U.S.

The U.S. Coast Guard, through its International Port Security Program (IPSP), encourages bilateral or multilateral discussions with nations around the world in an effort to exchange information and share best practices that align implementation and enforcement requirements of the MTSA with the ISPS Code and other international maritime security standards. As lead agency for maritime security in the U.S., the Coast Guard works closely with our international trading partners to promote reasonable and consistent implementation and enforcement of the ISPS code for enhanced maritime security in countries (and ports) that participate in global trade. https://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/browse.do?channelId=-18389.

NEW ORLEANS — Coast Guard Sector New Orleans hosts South African delegates during a three-day visit to New Orleans, Sept. 21, 2011. During the visit, the delegates were given an aerial tour of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico aboard a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala. The visit is conducted with foreign delegation to show international trading partners how the United States implemented the International Ship and Port Security Code in U. S. ports and port facilites. U. S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Ranel.

NEW ORLEANS — Nicholas John Fray, Maritime Security Coordinator for the South African Security Agency, discusses maritime security and safety with members of the Harbor Police Department Port of New Orleans, Sept. 22, 2011. Fray and other South African delegates visited the Coast Guard and other agencies on a three-day trip to learn how the United States implements the International Ship and Port Security code in U.S. ports and port facilities. The delegates were also given an an aerial tour of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico aboard a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala., and escorted along the Mississippi River by the HPD for a view of the Port of New Orleans. U. S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Ranel.

NEW ORLEANS — Robert Hecker, Chief of Police for the Harbor Police Department Port of New Orleans, explains the role of HPD on the Mississippi River to Nicholas John Fray, Maritime Security Coordinator for the South African Security Agency, Sept. 23, 2011. An HPD 96-foot response boat and crew escorted Fray and Nico Du Plessis, National Chief Security Officer for Transnet Ports Terminal in South Africa, along the Mississippi River to learn about safety and security along the river. The delegates were also given an an aerial tour of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico aboard a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala. U. S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Ranel.

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From left to right: Lt. James O’Mara,  Coast Guard Cutter Farallon commanding officer, gives a tour of the Farallon to Ricardo Lansiquot, Aruba National Security Advisor; Lt. Cmdr. Neil Marcelino, Coast Guard International Port Security Officer Caribbean & West Africa; Ronnie Angela, Port Facility Security Officer Aruba Ports Authority; Gregory Lacle, Curacao Port Facility Security Officer;  Marlon La Roche, Curacao Harbor Master, during an International Port Security visit to Puerto Rico Aug. 17.  (U.S. Coast Guard Photo). 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Coast Guard Sector San Juan hosted delegates from the Kingdom of the Netherlands Island of Aruba and Netherland Antilles Island of Curacao during a three-day International Port Security visit to port facilities in Puerto Rico Aug 17-19.

“We want to make sure that our international trading partners receive the same courtesies extended to us when we visit their ports and facilities and provide them with the latest executable information to include overseeing the actual paces of a port facility inspection,” said Lt Cmdr. Luis Parrales, Sector San Juan chief of inspections division .  “This professional exchange between maritime experts allows us to better represent the Coast Guard’s International Port Security Program throughout the Caribbean, as we continue to build and maintain relationships in this key maritime arena.”

Ricardo Lansiquot, Aruba National Security Advisor; Ronnie Angela, Port Facility Security Officer Aruba Ports Authority; Gregory Lacle, Curacao Port Facility Security Officer and Marlon La Roche, Curacao Harbor Master, received a tour of San Juan Harbor and visited port and water front facilities such as the Puerto Rico Ports Authority Cruise Ship Terminal in Old San Juan, Crowley Service facility in Isla Grande, the Commonwealth Oil Refining Company, Inc. and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority EcoElectric facilities in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico.  The delegates were introduced to the Facility Security Officers, who provided presentations as to how security measures are implemented at their respective facilities. This gave the delegates of Aruba and Curacao a great opportunity to compare and share best practices in their implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) to that of the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) implemented in the U.S.

The U.S. Coast Guard, through its International Port Security Program (IPSP), encourages bilateral or multilateral discussions with nations around the world in an effort to exchange information and share best practices that align implementation and enforcement requirements of the MTSA with the ISPS Code and other international maritime security standards. As lead agency for maritime security in the U.S., the Coast Guard works closely with our international trading partners to promote reasonable and consistent implementation and enforcement of the ISPS code for enhanced maritime security in countries (and ports) that participate in global trade. https://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/browse.do?channelId=-18389.