Maritime Infrastructure Recovery Plan

NSPD 41/HSPD 13 Main >> Supporting Plans >> Maritime Infrastructure Recovery Plan

Background

The Maritime Infrastructure Recovery Plan (MIRP) (PDF, 63 pages - 1.8 MB) is one of eight plans supporting the National Strategy for Maritime Security. It was developed in collaboration with public- and private-sector stakeholders, as directed by National Security Presidential Directive-41/Homeland Security Presidential Directive-13. Its development was also coordinated with other supporting plans, especially the Maritime Transportation System Security Recommendations and the Maritime Commerce Security Plan because of their importance to the secure flow of commerce.

What the MIRP is:

• The MIRP is intended to protect the American economy by facilitating the restoration of passenger and cargo flow, specifically container cargo, in the event of an attack or similarly disruptive event. Container cargo is more likely to hold perishable items in immediate need of unloading, or items that are key components in the production of consumer goods.
• The MIRP includes an exercise plan to maintain a level of preparedness within maritime community. This plan recommends periodic table-top and field exercises, which align with existing related plans such as the National Response Plan and the Top Official program.

What the MIRP is not:

• The MIRP does not address long-term interruptions for conveyances that carry primarily non-perishable cargo. In addition, certain commodities, such as liquefied natural gas and oil offer very limited options for cargo diversion, as there are just four LNG ports, and oil refineries are already operating at 97 percent capacity.
• The MIRP is not a plan for the physical recovery of a port that has been impacted by a natural or man-made incident. Rather, the MIRP protects the economy by providing guidance for redirecting container cargo traffic away from the impacted port to an appropriate alternate port.

Hurricane Katrina and the MIRP

The eight supporting plans to the National Strategy for Maritime Security were submitted for to the White House, the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Defense—depending on ownership of each plan—for approval in June 2005, 180 days after NSPD-41/HSPD-13 was signed.

While the plans were in review, Hurricane Katrina struck. Although the National Strategy for Maritime Security was approved for release on September 20, after which the supporting plans would be releasable at the discretion of their Departments, the MIRP was held back for an additional 90-day review for lessons learned after Katrina.

Findings:

The MIRP provides guidelines for coordinated, national-level recovery efforts immediately after attacks or disruptions to the flow of container cargo and passengers vessels.

Handling just 1 percent of the nation’s container cargo, New Orleans is not currently a key player in the nation’s container cargo trade. However, it represents 18 percent of the nation’s reserve cargo capacity. In the short term, Hurricane Katrina compromised the nation’s ability to divert container traffic in the event of a transportation security incident on the East Coast.

To address disruptions similar to Katrina, which do not affect cargo or passenger flow to a great extent, the MIRP must either be expanded to an all-hazards recovery plan or a sister plan to the National Response Plan must be created in the form of a National Recovery Plan.

Key Elements of the MIRP

Within the context of container cargo and passenger vessels, the MIRP’s primary goal is to protect the U.S. economy from the effects of a maritime Transportation Security Incident (TSI). In support of this goal, the MIRP will guide individuals designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security to help make decisions on maintaining or restoring transportation capabilities, in the event of a TSI.

• The MIRP will be activated when a TSI occurs in or near U.S. waters. The MIRP is employed when the Secretary of Homeland Security declares that an actual or threatened TSI under, in, on, or adjacent to waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction is an Incident of National Significance, in accordance with National Response Plan and HSPD-5 criteria.
• The MIRP reflects National Response Plan organizational structures and Incident Command System and unified command procedures. As such, the plan can be used for other similarly disruptive incidents requiring maritime infrastructure recovery management.
• The MIRP describes public- and private-sector roles according to relevant functional responsibilities. Recovery management takes place at the national, regional, and local levels. Therefore, the plan describes recovery management considerations for the incident site and non-incident support sites, as well as for the national maritime transportation system.
• The MIRP provides for private-sector participation in decision making at all levels. The private sector owns and operates the vast majority of maritime transportation infrastructure assets, and it will decide whether to repair, replace or rebuild privately owned physical assets after a TSI. However, federal assistance may be needed to help restore critical cargo-handling infrastructure.

Critical Issues

Seven critical issues were identified as the MIRP was developed, which will need to be addressed. The following are considered high priority:

• Port cargo-handling capacity information is unknown or not readily available for use in deliberations regarding recovery of the MTS following a national TSI.
• There is no national communications network or information exchange between the federal government and the private sector focused on maritime recovery management.
• The Area Maritime Security (AMS) Plans do not adequately and uniformly address critical MTS recovery management planning elements.
• Salvage capability specific to national and regional recovery is unknown.

Section VI of the MIRP offers recommendations for further evaluation or implementation of these and the remainder of the seven issues of concern.

This page was last reviewed/modified on March 26, 2008.