First, we would like to thank the Association of Pacific Ports for requesting a blog. We are looking forward to speaking at their 107th annual event in 2021.[1]
The concept of collaborating as a maritime community to identify, detect and protect against threats to the maritime transportation system (MTS) has a long tradition in the Pacific. This has been true whether facing a wide variety of threats and hazards and continues today. Look at the COVID-19 virus and how communities are using crowdsourcing with public and private sector organizations working together locally and globally to identify and move much needed supplies and perform research. As a result, it has been communities that have thrived, while individuals struggle to address all of these challenges on their own.
Another example we regularly see relates to weather related emergency response scenarios. These events are an excellent example of how public and private sector organizations work together to address and recover from the threat. While storms are not entirely predictable, we are aware that they occur, we understand the range of their potential impacts and understand that there are actions that both sets of stakeholders are responsible for taking. So, the MTS develops and exercises plans to ensure preparedness.
[1] https://www.pacificports.org/ The full article is available at: https://issuu.com/janemci/docs/pacific-ports-august2020