Chris DiMillo, owner of DiMillo’s Marina in Portland, had an unpleasant surprise this past July 15. His upscale operation, which caters to pleasure boats and yachts, learned from the Coast Guard that a new arrival was not authorized to stay at the port facility. The boat, PERFECT PRESCRIPTION, fell under a section of new maritime regulations that limits the locations where foreign-flagged vessels can stay. PERFECT PRESCRIPTION, a mega-yacht with a flag from the Cayman Islands, was forced to move to a federally approved secure site in the harbor. DiMillo and the boat owner were both shocked and appalled by the Coast Guard’s interception. “I’m disgusted with them,” DiMillo told the press.
The new regulations that affected PERFECT PRESCRIPTION and DiMillo’s do not come as much of a surprise for most of the commercial working waterfront. The legislation, known as the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA), is an extension of the preexisting convention SOLAS (Safety and Life at Sea). The media have covered this legislation over the past year; Working Waterfront first outlined the legislation in June 2003. Furthermore, the MTSA is the United States’ version of the International Ship and Port Facility Code (ISPS), which went into effect globally on July 1.
MTSA, like its global sibling ISPS, is intended to improve port security. As stated by maritime professional Tork Buckley in Dockwalk, “Its aim is to protect ports from harm brought to them by ships – in other words, to prevent a maritime 9/11.” The Act fulfills these expectations by requiring port facilities, foreign-flagged vessels and other working waterfront industries to establish a series of security measures, including hiring specially trained security personnel, conducting security assessments, and develop security plans. Typically, both vessels and port facilities must also install new security equipment to meet regulations. Fulfilling these requirements requires a substantial investment of time and money.
While foreign-flagged vessels over a certain gross tonnage and class must meet these new security requirements, port facilities have a greater degree of flexibility. The only facilities that must comply with the regulations are those that want to moor international, large-scale vessels. Smaller marinas, therefore, have little need to follow MTSA. Dark Harbor Boatyard on Islesboro, for example, falls under this category of unaffected port facilities. A staff member there noted the act had little impact on the facility, as it is too small to accept mega-yachts. “We don’t do anything differently,” said the staff member.
Larger marinas that rely on mega-yachts must gain federal security clearance under this new act, however. This clearance grants marinas status as a “105 regulated facility,” and authorizes them to moor large, foreign vessels. Presently, both Boston Harbor and Portland Harbor only have one such facility each. Other port facilities have not been granted clearance yet, partially due to the length of time required to fulfill the regulations. “The Coast Guard is starting the process; it just got underway,” said Jack Cogswell from the Carousel Marina in Boothbay Harbor. “The whole procedure takes about 90 days.”
Unfortunately, 90 days is too long for most marina owners, considering the act went into effect in the middle of the summer. “It’s too much to do at peak season,” said Chris DiMillo. “We’ll probably be ready next year.” Until they are granted 105 regulated facility status, certain mega-yachts will be forced to moor elsewhere. This was not a consequence the staff at DiMillo’s marina anticipated. “No one read into this that it was going to affect recreation vessels,” Chris DiMillo told the press.
The question then remains if the new regulations under the Maritime Transportation Security Act were so well publicized, how was a large marina such as DiMillo’s caught by surprise? Simply put, the legislation is complex, confusing and was poorly disseminated.
“You ask three different people who are officials [about MTSA] and you get three different answers,” said Grace Bloodwell, Assistant Dock Master at Boston’s Yacht Haven marina. The Portland Press Herald reported that even the Coast Guard Marine Safety Officer’s spokesman was unable to explain the legislation when asked.
The confusion surrounding MTSA stems from the expectation that the legislation be flexible, adapting to the needs of each vessel and port facility. While flexibility can be good, it also creates confusion when individual vessels and facilities try to understand what their requirements are. For example, under the MTSA regulations, a foreign-flagged boat certified as a yacht or pleasure vessel with fewer than 12 passengers may stay at any port facility. If the same boat has an International Ship Security Certificate (ISSC), a type of safety plan for the vessel, it may only dock at an approved 105 facility.
It is ironic, at best, that the boats with a security plan are the only ones from this group that are deemed too dangerous to remain at a non-regulated port facility.
This was precisely the case with PERFECT PRESCRIPTION, as it was a foreign-flagged yacht with an ISSC. In Portland, the Coast Guard required PERFECT PRESCRIPTION to moor at the only secure, 105 regulated facility: the Maine State Pier. This site is also home to Portland’s fleet of commercially owned tugboats, cargo ships, and other industrial vessels. Bloodwell points out that this is not the type of boating experience mega-yacht owners are looking for in New England. “In Boston, the only SOLAC 105 facility is the Black Falcon Terminal, where cargo ships and tanker vessels tie up,” she said. “It doesn’t exactly match the profile of a typically yachting trip.” The owners of PERFECT PRESCRIPTION agreed. They cut their trip short, and headed back out of New England. Interestingly, when PERFECT PRESCRIPTION was in Boston the vessel moored for three days at Boston Yacht Haven, which does not have 105 certification. It was only after the vessel left the marina that the Boston Coast Guard responded. Then, all they did was alert the Portland Coast Guard that the vessel was heading to Maine. The Portland Coast Guard intercepted the mega-yacht at DiMillo’s wharf after it arrived.
This is not the first time there has been a conflict with foreign-flagged mega-yachts in Portland. Prior to the incident with PERFECT PRESCRIPTION, the Coast Guard tried to remove another mega-yacht from DiMillo’s Marina in early July. DiMillo’s protested, believing the yacht did not fall under the regulated security limits. Ultimately, the marina was correct, leaving the Coast Guard with no authority to move the vessel. DiMillo has found both these incidents troubling.
“I don’t think they understand the law, and yet they expect me to,” he said. Bloodwell agrees. “It is disconcerting for us – we have to figure out what we have to do on our own.”
The Coast Guard in Boston held a meeting with owners of port facilities in an attempt to explain the new regulations, and is working to increase approved and regulated marinas. They also acknowledge the regulations can be confusing. “There have been several cases of confusion regarding security requirements and how they apply to foreign mega-yachts,” writes Maritime Transportation Security Specialist Timothy White. “These scenarios are not all inclusive. Each yacht may present a slightly different situation.”
Not all marina owners are opposed to the new regulations. Jack Cogswell from the Carousel Marina explained his facility is working with the Coast Guard to get proper certification to host foreign mega-yachts. “The Coast Guard is very active in getting this program underway. They’re doing a good job.” Cogswell anticipates his marina will be approved by next summer’s season. “I think we need it,” he said. “The whole nation has got to change its way of life. [Terrorists] are going to infiltrate us whatever way possible and it doesn’t look like they’ll go away in the next 90 days.” He emphasized Carousel Marina will do whatever is necessary to support Homeland Security.
Bloodwell agrees that the law is beneficial for national security. “It’s a good policy,” she said. “The idea is to make international cargo safer. It was an unfortunate oversight that the yachting community is affected by it.” She hopes that with improved communication with the Coast Guard and policy makers, the regulations can be clarified for marinas and yacht owners. Or, as Bloodwell suggests, it may be time for Americans to stop using foreign flags on their boats. Until then, staff at port facilities can only hope their understanding of the new regulations aligns with the Coast Guard’s.