Law enforcement personnel watch a presentation during a multi-agency maritime security exercise Wednesday, July 19 in Port Lavaca, Texas. (Courtesy Photo)
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coast Guard and federal, state, and local agency partners conducted a maritime security exercise in Port Lavaca, Texas, Wednesday.
Approximately 80 people from 33 agencies and five counties participated in the exercise, which consisted of simulated threats to maritime facilities and area bridges.
“This security exercise was designed to assess and elevate the Coast Guard’s and our partner agencies’ readiness to respond to a critical security incident at Coastal Bend maritime facilities and bridges,” said Cmdr. Michelle Foster, chief of response, Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi. “The Coast Guard will continue its close coordination and collaboration with our partner agencies to ensure that we are prepared for any emergency situation that may arise.”
The purpose of the exercise was to test security elevation and response efforts and promote effective coordination and communication between response agencies during a large-scale maritime emergency. This exercise provided an opportunity for the Coast Guard and partners to validate existing protocols, review capabilities, and identify gaps within existing contingency plans.
Exercise participants included:
- Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi
- Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Victoria
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Texas Department of Public Safety
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Law Enforcement
- Texas Division of Emergency Management
- Texas Department of Transportation
- Union Pacific Railroad
- Calhoun Port Authority
- Port of Victoria
- Port of Brownsville
- Victoria County
- Calhoun County
- Jackson County
- Matagorda County
- Aransas County
- Victoria Fire Department
- Port Lavaca Fire Department
- Port Lavaca Police
- Pin Oak Terminal
- Valero
- Ineos
- Dow
- Seadrift Coke
- Gulfmark Energy
- Cheniere
- Max Midstream
- Invista
- Lydia Ann Channel Fleet
- Keppel AmFELS
- Chemours
- Formosa
- Nustar Energy
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