Security effort tightened in Maine ports

SOUTHWEST HARBOR – Coast Guard officials in Maine have stepped up security procedures for mass transit systems after the terrorist bombings in London last week, and Coast Guard vessels have begun escorting ferries in and out of local ports.

Immediately after the bombings, the Department of Homeland Security raised the terror threat level from code yellow, or elevated, to code orange, or high, for the mass transit sector of the transportation system. That will mean tighter security measures for ferries such as The Cat, which operates out of Bar Harbor, and for cruise ships visiting Maine ports, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard Group in Southwest Harbor.

“Our goal is not to impact transportation at all,” Ensign Ben Crowell said Saturday. “Our goal is to ensure that transportation is secure and safe and that what happened in London does not happen in the United States in the future.”

Crowell said there could be delays as passengers see increased screenings and baggage and identification checks. Passengers also can expect to see increased security and law enforcement personnel at terminals.

The Coast Guard will escort ferries into and out of port, but Crowell could not reveal how far out the escort will stay with the vessels.

“There’s some information I can’t discuss,” he said.

The heightened security demands did not appear to hinder loading of The Cat on Sunday at the Bay Ferries terminal in Bar Harbor. The Cat departed for Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, on schedule. The company generally does not comment on security measures, and terminal employees declined to discuss any increased security.

Staff would not allow reporters into the secure area where passengers waited be screened and allowed to board.

Marketing director Risteen Masters said Sunday she has been out of the office for several days, did not have current figures and could not say whether the heightened alert level had kept travelers away from the ferry. Masters said the company’s security staff works hard to keep the loading process as smooth as possible.

“Even with the heightened security requirements, whatever they ask [security staff] to do, they keep things flowing right along,” Masters said. “We try not to inconvenience our passengers any more than necessary while remaining safe.”

With Coast Guard vessels around the country escorting passenger ferries, recreational boaters should be aware of security zones and restricted waters around marine transportation routes, according to Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Carter, a Coast Guard spokesman.

“We have no specific intelligence indicating a direct threat to ferries,” Carter said. “However, it is prudent to increase security on this vital transportation link that carries more than 135 million people each year,” said Carter.

The largest number of ferries is concentrated along the Northeast and Pacific Northwest coasts.

The heightened security has had little impact on cruise ships entering Bar Harbor. According to Harbor Master Charlie Phippen, Harbor Place is the only docking area in town that meets the level of security the Homeland Security Department has put in place. Tenders from cruise ships have to use the dock at Harbor Place.

“Cruise ships can no longer load passengers at the town pier,” he said. “That’s been the biggest change.”

The town already had been using that facility on many occasions, he said.

Restrictions also have been placed on yachts, depending on their size, Phippen said.

“So, there’s been a little effect here,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.