Officials confident harbor is secure

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- Local Coast Guard and harbor patrol authorities say

they are on “high alert” following a government warning late Friday night

of possible terrorist attacks targeting the nation’s ports, bays, rivers

and shores.

The Coast Guard sent out a warning to all its units Friday expressing

concern about attacks from scuba divers in the Seattle Puget Sound

region, officials said. No specific details were given. Since the

warning, the nation’s ports are on a “yellow” alert, indicating a

“significant” risk of attack.

Coast Guard officers are in the process of working with local law

enforcement agencies to ensure the “effectiveness of our specific plans,”

said Capt. Stephen LaLonde, spokesman for the Coast Guard in Los Angeles.

“We’re not going to disclose our specific security plans,” he said.

“But it is our intention to maintain a high state of alertness and

vigilance.”

Anybody who sees suspicious activity should call the Coast Guard’s

national response center at (800) 424-8802, LaLonde said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol based in Newport

Beach is confident of handling any emergency situation, Harbor Master

Marty Kasules said.

The harbor patrol’s jurisdiction extends three miles into the ocean

off the Newport Beach coast, although they do respond to ocean rescues

beyond that distance if necessary. The Coast Guard handles incidents

beyond the harbor patrol’s jurisdiction.

Kasules said that since the terrorist attacks, civilians have been

vigilant as well.

“People are much more aware,” he said. “We get a lot of calls from

citizens reporting suspicious activity.”

Also, harbor patrol deputies patrolling Newport Beach know the area

extremely well, Kasules said.

‘ ‘These guys know every boat that moves in the harbor,” he said. “We

do get transient traffic, but I’m comfortable with the way we’ve been

able to spot anything that looks suspicious.”

Also, anybody who scuba dives in the area must have a license, and

such divers are constantly checked, Kasules said.

The local police department does not necessarily patrol the harbor but

works with the agencies concerned, said Newport Beach Police Lt. John

Klein.

“We certainly work with them on investigations,” he said. “We respond

as and when necessary.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .