The next is the Jan. 21, 2025, Authorities Accountability Workplace report Maritime Cargo Safety: Further Efforts Wanted to Assess the Effectiveness of DHS’s Method.
From the report
What GAO Discovered
The Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) makes use of a layered maritime safety method to determine doubtlessly high-risk, U.S.-bound vessels and cargo shipments. Inside DHS, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Safety (CBP) are the lead companies that handle applications that display, goal, and study these vessels and shipments. Each companies conduct these actions earlier than vessels and cargo depart overseas seaports, in transit, and upon their arrival at U.S. seaports. For instance, each companies have intelligence applications to display and goal these vessels and cargo throughout the availability chain.
GAO discovered that Coast Guard and CBP on the 16 chosen subject models typically adopted 5 chosen main practices for interagency collaboration of their efforts to safe U.S.-bound vessels and maritime cargo from nationwide safety dangers. For instance, officers from all chosen subject models we interviewed reported leveraging sources and knowledge to collaborate with their counterpart. Particularly, Coast Guard officers at one location stated they leveraged the employees of different federal companies, resembling CBP, to assist with vessel boardings as a consequence of their very own staffing challenges.
GAO additionally discovered that DHS had not absolutely assessed the effectiveness of its method for securing vessels and maritime cargo. The Coast Guard and Transportation Methods Sector companions—together with federal companies, state, native, and tribal governments, and nongovernmental organizations—recognized a strategic objective with actions related to securing vessels and maritime cargo. Nevertheless, they haven’t developed goal, measurable, and quantifiable efficiency targets and efficiency measures to completely assess progress in direction of this objective. Doing so would higher place the company and its companions to commonly use efficiency data to evaluate the effectiveness of their method and assist inform choices, resembling figuring out find out how to finest allocate sources.
Why GAO Did This Examine
The U.S. economic system is dependent upon the short and environment friendly movement of tens of millions of tons of cargo every day all through the worldwide provide chain. Nevertheless, U.S.-bound vessels and maritime cargo shipments are susceptible to legal exercise or terrorist assaults that would disrupt operations and restrict international financial progress and productiveness.
The James M. Inhofe Nationwide Protection Authorization Act for Fiscal 12 months 2023 features a provision for GAO to evaluate federal efforts to safe U.S.-bound vessels and maritime cargo from nationwide security-related dangers. This report addresses (1) how DHS secures these vessels and cargo from provide chain dangers, (2) the extent that DHS used chosen main collaboration practices, and (3) the extent that DHS assessed its method.
GAO reviewed company insurance policies, procedures, and collaboration efforts and government-wide technique paperwork, and assessed DHS collaboration efforts in opposition to 5 related main practices recognized in prior GAO work. GAO additionally interviewed Coast Guard and CBP officers from 16 subject places at a non-generalizable pattern of eight U.S. seaports chosen for various volumes of cargo and variety of geographic areas.
What GAO Recommends
GAO recommends that the Coast Guard, with sector companions, develop goal, measurable, and quantifiable efficiency targets and measures and use this efficiency data to evaluate progress in direction of the targets and effectiveness of the layered method to securing vessels and maritime cargo on an ongoing foundation. DHS concurred with our suggestions.
Obtain the doc right here.
