U.S. is on track in tracking ships

Regarding “A system to keep tabs on ships” (March 31):

Your article on vessel tracking reported that members of the public and Congress were concerned that the Coast Guard was not making adequate use of a private vessel-tracking service to meet a congressional mandate to meet an April 1 deadline under the SAFE Port Act.

Buried in the article was an accurate statement that should have allayed concerns: The Coast Guard is meeting the deadline. The Coast Guard indeed met the April 1 deadline to implement a long-range tracking system for large commercial vessels in U.S. waters.

In fact, the Coast Guard has been able to track these vessels for several years through the use of numerous classified and unclassified vessel-tracking systems maintained by a wide range of government and private entities, including some of the ones you referenced in your article. We are now working with the International Maritime Organization to expand our authority and ability to track more than 40,000 ships worldwide.

Closer to home, the Coast Guard is working to identify solutions to potential issues surrounding the millions of smaller vessels that ply our nation’s waters, many of which are capable of being exploited for transportation of dangerous weapons and people from other countries, or being used as weapons.

Our mandate is clear, and Coast Guard men and women are working diligently to provide our nation comprehensive maritime safety and security.

REAR ADM. JOSEPH NIMMICH

Assistant commandant

for policy and planning

U.S. Coast Guard, Washington