Coast Guard Port Safety Program

Most shippers are deeply concerned about the safety and security of their cargo while in transit. These shippers put their trust in freight forwarders to provide a safe shipping plan. While no plan is perfectly safe, freight forwarders put their trust in the United States Coast Guard to play a role in security. They operate the Coast Guard Port Safety Program, which has been around for decades. Essentially, the Coast Guard Port Safety Program allows the Coast Guard to monitor the ships. They conduct routine inspects for international vessels that are docked here and travel in the US domestic waters. During the inspections, the US Coast Guard will check for any safety, security and environmental risks. If there are no problems, then the vessel can travel in the US. If there are problems, then the vessel is prohibited from traveling in the US until the issues are resolved. The issues will be stated in an official document called the Report of Inspection. At first, the Coast Guard detained hundreds of vessels. Today, less than 200 a year are detained.
Recently, the US Coast detained a vessel in Maine due to safety violations. The vessel had operational problems with the technology onboard, and thus cannot leave the dock until the issues get resolved. The International Maritime Organization has authorized the US Coast Guard to perform these safety inspections. Because of the US Coast Guard, it is safer for vessels to ship ocean containers to and from the US.