"Terrorists" Attack Training Ship GOLDEN BEAR

Ever wonder what would happen if a maritime terrorist event were to happen on a Bay Area waterway? Would local, state, and federal agencies and our maritime industrial community be ready? A first-of-its-kind Bay Area event conducted today at The California Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime), a campus of The California State University, will help shed light on the answers.

The event - which is being conducted by Cal Maritime in partnership with CEI Maritime and is taking place as a part of MARSEC-TIP '04 (Maritime Security, Training Into Practice) - is a follow up to Cal Maritime's maritime security conference (MARSEC-CON '04) last May. The exercise is targeted to test the security plan of Cal Maritime's Training Ship GOLDEN BEAR as part of compliance with the provisions of the post-9/11 Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002. This is the first ship security plan exercise of its type to be conducted in California, and it involves the active participation and response of local and statewide law enforcement.

Key elements of the day's exercise include "intruders" donning face masks gaining entry onto the 500-foot ship, a simulated small boat attack on the ship, a bomb-sniffing CHP canine searching for simulated explosives onboard the vessel, and the USAF Explosive Ordinance Demolition Team from Travis AFB "detonating" the simulated explosives.

"As the only maritime academy on the West Coast, we are committed to taking a leadership position when it applies to developing standardized training and curriculum for our students and the professional maritime community," said Don Zingale, vice president for academic affairs at Cal Maritime. "So while one of the objectives of the exercise is to test the necessary elements of our approved vessel security plan, we will use our lessons learned during the exercise to develop curriculum for ship-oriented security plan training."

Supporting Cal Maritime in the development and execution of this unique exercise is an expert team from Oakland-based CEI Maritime. CEI Maritime is comprised of former US Coast Guard and US Navy personnel who have a strong background in maritime and port security operations and who have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Cal Maritime to develop and implement the exercise.

"CEI Maritime is pleased and honored to be teamed with Cal Maritime in this critical program," said Captain Bruce G. Clark, USCGR (ret), vice president of operations for CEI Maritime. "The best way to defeat terrorism on the waterfront is to be vigilant, prepared, and ready to meet any threat. This process is best served by building from the ground up - training and exercising the managers, first responders, ships officers, crew, and maritime workforce at the dock and deck plate levels where the terrorists will strike first."

In addition to participating CEI Maritime experts and Cal Maritime faculty, staff, and students, exercise participants include the California Highway Patrol, United States Coast Guard, Vallejo Police Department, Vallejo Fire Department, Solano County Sheriff's Department, and the USAF Explosive Ordinance Demolition Team, Travis AFB. Additionally, exercise observers include the FBI and California Military Department.

"The 'Travis Team' is honored to take part in Cal Maritime's security exercise," said Master Sergeant Joseph D. Cross II, a member of the Travis Air Force Base Explosive Ordinance Disposal Flight. "It is truly a pleasure to work with other Solano County agencies and the California State University."

Contact: Jennifer Whitty, 707-654-1720