JUNEAU, Alaska, March 15 (UPI) -- U.S. Coast Guard units carried out a series of security exercises in southeastern Alaska and Hawaii this week.
The Alaskan exercise was based on a scenario involving a suspicious explosion on the car deck of a civilian ferry in a test of the Maritime Security Level System (MARSEC).
The Coast Guard in Juneau reported that the exercise opened Tuesday with a test of communications that alert civilian vessels and shore facilities of the need to raise the MARSEC level. MARSEC is a five-tier threat level developed by the Department of Homeland Security.
The second day brought in local government agencies and civilian shipping companies to coordinate their response to what was only described by the Coast Guard as a "maritime security incident in Southeast Alaska."
There were fewer details released to the public regarding what took place Tuesday at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
The Coast Guard said in a release that drill off the strategic U.S. Navy base involved a series of small-boat scenarios. Assets included the cutter Galveston, boat units attached to the Navy's submarine command and even personnel on personal watercraft. The production was big enough that a notice to mariners was issued to keep civilian boats out of the area, and people on shore were advised not to be alarmed at the flashing lights, air horns and high-speed maneuvers by the boats.
