Thursday, June 6, 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard announced the establishment of an industry-led Maritime Security Sector Coordinating Council (SCC). The Dredging Contractors of America (DCA) is a charter member.
Featured image above: DCA members Manson Construction and Kiewit working on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge East Span Marine Foundations Removal Project. Photo credit: Associated General Contractors of America.
Sector Coordinating Councils (SCCs) are self-organized and self-governed councils that enable critical infrastructure owners and operators, their trade associations, and other industry representatives to interact on a wide range of sector specific strategies, polices, and activities. SCCs coordinate and collaborate with Sector Specific Agencies and related Government Coordinating Councils (GCCs) to address critical infrastructure security and resilience polices and efforts for a specific sector. The MSCC is expected to collaborate with the Maritime sub-sector of the Transportation System Sector’s GCC.
The GCC/SCC structure is established under the Department of Homeland Security’s authority to provide a forum in which the government and private sector entities can jointly engage in a broad spectrum of activities to support and coordinate critical infrastructure security and resilience efforts. The use of the SCC/GCC structure is highly encouraged in each of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors established under Presidential Policy Directive 21–Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience.
I am pleased to be representing the Dredging Contractors of America on this important maritime industry-led Sector Coordinating Council. It is integral that the private sector U.S. maritime industry interact and cooperate with U.S. Government Coordinating Councils, said William P. Doyle, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Dredging Contractors of America.
The Maritime SCC will serve as the principal liaison with the Maritime Modal Government Coordinating Council (Maritime GCC) and its member
federal agencies on issues pertaining to joint planning, preparedness, resilience, and recovery related to events of national significance that may affect the domestic delivery of resources through maritime means.
The Maritime SCC consists of CEO-level representatives of organizations (i.e., owners and/or operators and/or their associations) with a primary business focus in, and control over, aspects of the critical infrastructure of the U.S. domestic maritime industry.
Government Coordinating Council
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- U.S. Department of Defense
- Office of the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- Customs and Border Protection
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Office of Policy
- U.S. Coast Guard
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- U.S. Department of Transportation
- Maritime Administration
Sector Coordinating Council
- American Maritime Officers (AMO)
- American Maritime Officers Service
- Associated Federal Pilots and Docking Masters of Louisiana
- American Maritime Partnership (AMP)
- American Petroleum Tankers, LLC
- American Waterways Operators, The
- Crowley Maritime Corporation
- Dredging Contractors of America
- Interlake Steamship Company
- Kirby Corporation
- Lake Carriers Association
- Masters, Mates & Pilots
- Matson Navigation Company
- Overseas Shipholding Group
- Pasha Group
- SEACOR Holdings, Inc.
- Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA)
- TOTE, Inc.
- Transportation Institute
DHS approved the charter and membership list yesterday, which can be found at the following link: https://www.dhs.gov/transportation-maritime-charter-and-membership. Coast Guard, the Sector Specific Agency for the Maritime SCC, also posted a Maritime Commons blog post about the establishment here: https://mariners.coastguard.blog/2019/06/06/maritime-sector-coordinating-council-established/.
