From the Director

Mr. Gary Seffel

Director (Acting),

GLobal Maritime Domain Awareness

May, 2009

The advancement of global maritime information sharing cannot be tied to any single system or network. Around the world, smart people are finding solutions to local or regional challenges that can also be linked into other regional systems and thus into a larger global network.

A number of regional systems use Automatic Identification System (AIS) standardized data that, when linked together, provide maritime awareness over a growing portion of the world's coastal waters. For example, numerous Baltic and North Sea nations participate in the Helsinki Commission's HELCOM System, sharing their national AIS data for regional maritime safety purposes. Another regional system, VRMTC, enables greater maritime information sharing among Mediterranean nations. ReMIX? links more than twenty nations around the Malacca and Singapore Straits. MSSIS started as a Naval Forces Europe initiative, created by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Volpe Research and Development Center, and with international participation. The MSSIS network now enables the sharing of AIS data on vessels in the coastal waters of more than 50 nations around the world.

Fundamental to successful information sharing is the establishment of data standards and usage protocols to make systems compatible and reliable. The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) standards for AIS were drafted in part by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities. IALA is a non-politically-affiliated, non-profit and non-commercial maritime association of government and industry members responsible for marine aids to navigation for their respective nations. IALA and the IMO have a strong history of collaboration on maritime safety issues and IALA has made important contributions to the IMO's regulatory work. Because AIS was developed primarily for collision avoidance and is considered an aid to navigation by IALA, it is appropriate that AIS issues are discussed and debated throughout the many fora IALA hosts.

Global maritime awareness depends on a diversity of participants, which requires a globally-recognized maritime body to create universally-acceptable standards and protocols. The U.S. Coast Guard recognizes IALA as a key organization to guide the development of global AIS data sharing. On behalf of the US Coast Guard, NMCO‘s CAPT George McCarthy? presented the concept of an IALA-coordinated global AIS data sharing network to the May, 2008 meeting of the 21-nation IALA Council. The Council approved development of an AIS-sharing umbrella network called IALA.NET, which knits together regional networks. It is initially comprised of a logical combination of willing countries from both the MSSIS and HELCOM networks. IALA.NET established a Technical Sub-committee with representatives from both networks and an Executive Steering Committee comprised of representatives from Denmark, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

To ensure long term IALA.NET network sustainment, IALA followed the model of World Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS) and sought out leadership nations on an in-kind contribution basis to serve as hosts for their respective regions across which AIS data would be shared, technical support ensured and standards maintained. As the lead U.S. agency for aids to navigation, the Coast Guard stepped forward as a regional host. The Royal Danish Administration of Navigation and Hydrography, a member of IALA and a participant in the Helsinki Commission, also became a regional host.

An IALA.NET demonstrator was unveiled at the IALA Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) conference in Norway in August 2008, and made available online to six participating nations with several more seeking participation. To participate, applications must be submitted from or through one of the 160 National AIS Competent Authorities, as the lead representatives for their individual nations in this project. This requirement resulted in several requests to participate to be denied as IALA must ensure all users meet the protocols agreed to by the respective National AIS Competent Authorities.

At the fifth IALA.NET Steering Committee meeting in February, China's Maritime Safety Administration (MSA), also a member of IALA, was invited to become a member of the IALA.NET Steering Committee. China's MSA requested consideration to become a regional host in support of IALA.NET, offering their 70 AIS file servers to the project and if accepted, requesting technical guidance on how best to link with IALA.NET.

In timely support of China's request, at this same meeting, the steering committee agreed to begin drafting global AIS data sharing and network standards and protocols as the basis for an IALA-recommended reference document.

The Chinese MSA's participation in IALA.NET represents a significant step forward in the global effort to develop diverse and effective maritime awareness.

A formal reply to China's MSA from IALA is expected at the next IALA.NET Steering Committee meeting scheduled to be held in Shanghai this coming summer.

Gary Seffel

Director, Global Maritime Situational Awareness

February, 2009

NMCO is pleased to announce the 2009 Global Maritime Information Sharing Symposium at the National Defense University in Washington, DC September 15-17. We are conducting this year's event in the nation's capital to facilitate participation by members of the new administration.

The GMISS 2008 summary report is available on the NMCO Web site at gmsa.gov. ( http://www.gmsa.gov/twiki/bin/view/Main/GMISS08Report)

GMISS is an annual event hosted by NMCO to align US Government outreach to the maritime industry and expand industry-government maritime information sharing partnerships to improve maritime safety, security, commerce, and the environment. GMISS gives the maritime industry an ongoing forum to help shape the development of US Government maritime information sharing policies.

A key differentiator of GMISS from other conferences is the ongoing working groups developed through the symposium. The working groups, led by NMCO staff, enable participants to help define the industry-government information-sharing relationship and provide access to the US federal interagency body that coordinates maritime security policy.

Current working groups are addressing:

• Consolidating, streamlining, standardizing or reducing government information requests.
• A Law enforcement/industry model for an international/domestic maritime information sharing center.
• Maritime industry needs from the world's navies and coast guards.
• Creating economic incentives for maritime information sharing.

Beginning this year, GMISS will be combined with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Global Maritime and Air Intelligence Integration's (GMAII) "Protecting the Global Supply Chain" annual conference to better coordinate and consolidate interaction between the US Government and the maritime private sector. NMCO and GMAII are synchronizing GMISS 09 with the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) and Naval Postgraduate School's Maritime Information Sharing Task Force (MIST)regional symposiums, and with Naval Forces Southern Command's Maritime Liaison Unit (MARLU) Maritime Security Conference to further align US Government outreach efforts. Joining us again in presenting this year's symposium are the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (DOJ-COPS).

If you know of maritime industry representatives who would bring useful perspectives to GMISS 2009, or to our ongoing working groups, please let us know. Navy Lt. Patrick Dowling is coordinating this effort. You can reach him at Patrick.J.Dowling@uscg.mil. Broader participation can only enhance the success of this important endeavor.

Gary Seffel

Director (Acting), GMSA

January, 2009

We enter the New Year on a wave of progress in MDA. Many efforts are coming together with tangible results.

The Navy's Chief Information Officer (DON CIO), the designated Hub lead for the MDA Architecture Management Hub, has synthesized the work of an interagency working group into an MDA Architecture Hub Management Strategy which was presented to the Maritime Security Policy Coordinating Committee (MSPCC). NMCO has been gathering comments from stakeholders which the DON CIO is using to prepare a final version. The strategy outlines the direction for interagency working groups which are already taking shape to develop the MDA Architecture envisioned in the National Concept of Operations for MDA.

The Navy and Coast Guard are working together standing up the Vessel Hub, the fourth of the MDA information enterprise hubs, with an ambitious plan to identify their stakeholders' information needs and facilitate new levels of information sharing. Meanwhile, DHS, which manages the cargo, people, and infrastructure hubs, is coordinating efforts among its hub leads to build on an existing draft hub implementation plan to create unity of effort and eliminate redundancies with support from NMCO as the hub administrator.

The Dominican Republic and Chile have joined more than 50 other nations as partners in the Maritime Safety and Security Information System (MSSIS). Several other states have expressed a strong interest in coming aboard. A relatively simple means of sharing AIS data globally, MSSIS is a great foundation for maritime information sharing among countries that otherwise were not sharing data on a global scale. It helps participants make the giant leap from the one-to-one information sharing paradigm to a many-to-many model. MSSIS helps build the initial bond of trust that is essential for information sharing to take place, sets in place the basic policies that enable greater information sharing, and provides a common technical base on which additional data can be layered among all participants. The success of this program is the result of ongoing collaboration between various entities within the Departments of Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security and State, and OGMSA.

The National MDA Stakeholder Board has a new charter which empowers the MDA Executive Agents from the departments with the greatest stakes in MDA to collaborate more efficiently and effectively. The revised charter establishes a Stakeholder Board Executive Steering Committee comprised of the EAs from DHS, DOD and DOT; GMAII as the EA for the intelligence community; and NMCO representing the interests of the entire interagency community and non-governmental entities.

Working groups of industry and government volunteers developed at NMCO's Global Maritime Information Sharing Symposium (GMISS) are addressing some of the most pressing issues around MDA's impact on the maritime industry. This is a tremendous start in giving the industry an ongoing opportunity to partner with government on issues that may impact them immensely. NMCO is planning the next GMISS for September in Washington, D.C.

These are just a few of the MDA efforts that are showing real progress. There are many others across the US government and worldwide. New partners are coming on board bringing new data sets or new capabilities every week. There is no one single best solution or system at this stage of the game. Each effort is important in building the relationships, developing the policies, and implementing the technology that will give decision makers an effective understanding of those things that could impact their constituents' security, safety, economy, or environment.

We stand poised for an exciting and productive year for those developing MDA. My thanks go again to all of our partners who contributed to this tremendous progress. My hat is also off to the amazing staff of OGMSA. In addition to the roles they played to a greater or lesser extent in the above developments, they wrapped up the year by donating their free time to help the children of the Alternative House in Northern Virginia. Alternative House -- The Abused and Homeless Children's Refuge -- provides support for at-risk youth and their families through counseling, shelter, crisis intervention and outreach. In addition to "adopting" several children to ensure they had holiday presents to open, the team raked up more than 100 bags of leaves on Alternative House grounds and cooked dinner for the kids and the staff. NMCO was able to collect more than $360 for Alternative house and over $700 in donated goods. Great work, OGMSA.

I look forward to working even more productively with each of our partners in the coming months, and welcoming many more new partners to the effort. Best wishes for the New Year.

Mr. Gary Seffel

Director (acting), Global Maritime Situational Awareness

-- ChadHolmes - 23 Jan 2009