ROCKLAND – The Maine Marine Patrol says it will work alongside the U.S. Coast Guard inside federal safety zones while protecting shoreside facilities and cruise ships departing and entering Maine ports.

Coast Guard and Marine Patrol leaders signed the paperwork on the deal Monday.

It makes clear the Marine Patrol will take enforcement action in Coast Guard areas only in urgent situations, primarily to avoid serious safety or security zone violations.

While operating independently, either agency may report a violation of state or federal laws so that the proper agency may take appropriate action.

The agreement makes clear that the Marine Patrol officers will not be federal employees.

The federal government won’t reimburse expenses to the state without specific authorization.

Some training will occur between the two agencies so they can learn each other’s “language,” said Chief Petty Officer Phyllis Gamache-Jensen, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

The alliance provides “another set of eyes and ears on the water,” Gamache-Jensen said. “I think it was a move to make the relationship solid and legal.”

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the agencies began working together during security details, such as presidential patrols around the Bush family home at Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport and monitoring activities while cruise ships pass through Maine waters, but the Marine Patrol had no legal authority to do so.

“Now, we do,” said Maj. John Fetterman, deputy chief of the Maine Marine Patrol.

In Maine, the Coast Guard presence overshadows that of the Marine Patrol, with 774 personnel and 19 vessels compared with the state’s 48 officers and 20 vessels. Yet the agencies essentially cover the same border – from Canada to New Hampshire.