A Maritime Safety and Security Team, or MSST, is a

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

team of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

established to protect local maritime assets. It is also a harbor and inshore patrol and security team that includes detecting and, if necessary, stopping or arresting submerged divers, using the Underwater Port Security System. It is the only special force that can arrest submerged divers. MSSTs were created under the

Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA) () is an Act of Congress enacted by the 107th United States Congress to address port and waterway security. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 25, 2002. This l ...

(MTSA) in direct response to the

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

attacks on September 11, 2001, and they are a part of the

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the Interior minister, interior, Home Secretary ...

's layered strategy directed at protecting

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

s and

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

s. MSSTs provide waterborne and a modest level of shore-side counter-terrorism force protection for strategic shipping, high interest vessels, and critical infrastructure. MSSTs are a quick response force capable of rapid nationwide deployment via air, ground or sea transportation in response to changing threat conditions and evolving Maritime Homeland Security (MHS) mission requirements. Multi-mission capability facilitates augmentation for other selected Coast Guard missions. MSST personnel receive training in Advanced Tactical Boat Operations and counter-terrorism force protection at the Special Missions Training Center at

Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. The MSSTs operate as part of the Coast Guard's Deployable Specialized Forces, they are under operational control of the Coast Guard's corresponding Pacific and Atlantic Area commands, as well as an active reserve component of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

on request.

Mission

File:MSST 91114.jpg, A boatcrew from Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team 91114 conducts high-speed maneuvers during a security patrol south of the

Port of Miami The Port of Miami, styled as PortMiami and formally known as the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world and one ...

File:Killer Ex, Coast Guard tactical training 140207-G-TM873-025.jpg, Coast Guard tactical CQB training Modeled after the

Port Security Unit The U.S. Coast Guard's Port Security Units are Deployable Specialized Forces organized for sustained expeditionary security and anti-terrorism. They perform Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) missions, which include harbor and port defen ...

(PSU) and Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) programs, MSSTs provide a complementary non-redundant capability designed to close critical security gaps in United States strategic seaports. MSSTs are staffed to support continuous law enforcement operations both ashore and afloat. In addition, MSSTs: * Jointly staffed to maximize effectiveness executing Port, Waterways, and Coastal Security (PWCS) operations (enforce security zones, port state control boarding, protection of military out-loads and major marine events, augment shore-side security at waterfront facilities, detect WMD weapons/agents, and participate in port level counter-terrorism exercises). * Provide enhanced port safety and security and law enforcement capabilities to the economic or military significant port where they are based. * Deploy in support of National Special Security Events (NSSEs) requiring Coast Guard presence, such as OpSail, Olympics, Republican and Democratic national conventions, major

disaster A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. '' Natural disasters'' like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by na ...

s or storm recovery operations. * Prototype/employ specialized capabilities to enhance mission performance (K-9 program, radiation detectors, dive program, vertical insertion, running gear entangling systems, less-than-lethal weapons, etc.). * Deploy on board cutters and other naval vessels for port safety and security,

drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...

law enforcement, migrant interdiction, or other maritime

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

mission requirements. * Support Naval Coastal Warfare requirements during Homeland Defense (HLD) and in accordance with long standing agreements with DOD and the Combatant Commanders (protect strategic shipping, major naval combatants and critical infrastructure at home and abroad)

Capabilities

File:US Navy 100707-N-7058E-799 Members of a U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team watch as a fellow Coast Guardsman fast-ropes onto the flight deck of USS Freedom (LCS 1).jpg, U.S. Coast Guard's MSST fast-ropes onto the flight deck of USS Freedom (LCS 1) File:Coast Guard MSST K-9 team supports the 58th Presidential Inauguration security (32429734451).jpg, Coast Guard MSST K-9 team supports the 58th Presidential Inauguration security File:160513-N-WX059-110 (27073422122).jpg, A MSRT member trains with Royal Jordanian Marines *Maritime interdiction and law enforcement *

Security detail A security detail, often known as a PSD (protective services detail, personal security detachment, personal security detail) or PPD (personal protection detail), is a protective team assigned to protect the personal security of an individual or ...

*Counter-

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

/Force Protection * Visit, Board, Search and Seizure *

CBRN Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense (CBRN defense) or Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection (NBC protection) is a class of protective measures taken in situations where chemical, biological, radiological, or nucl ...

-E Detection *

Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(limited) *

Port Protection Port Protection ( Lingít: ''Kél)'' is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 36 at the 2020 census, down from 48 in 2010 census. Geography Port Protection is located at ...

/Anti-

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

* Underwater Port Security * Canine Handling Teams (

Explosive detection Explosive detection is a non-destructive inspection process to determine whether a container contains explosive material. Explosive detection is commonly used at airports, ports and for border control. Detection tools Colorimetrics & automated ...

) *Tactical Boat Operations *Non-compliant boarding operations

Commissioning schedule

*MSST 91101 --

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

(Established 2002) *MSST 91102 -- Chesapeake, Va. (Established 2002. Merged with TACLET North in 2004 to form the prototype Enhanced Maritime Safety and Security Team - "EMSST" which, in 2006, was finally named the

Maritime Security Response Team Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

- "MSRT;" the Coast Guard's only high-risk/counter-terrorism unit) *MSST 91103 --

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

(Established 2002) *MSST 91104 --

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

(Established 2002) *MSST 91105 --

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

(Established 2003) *MSST 91106 --

Fort Wadsworth Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower bays, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay, Manhattan, and beyon ...

, Staten Island, NY (Established 2003) *MSST 91107 --

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, HI (Established 2005) *MSST 91108 -- St. Marys, Georgia ( Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay) (Established 2003) *MSST 91109 --

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, CA (Established 2005) (transitioned into MSRT West in 2016, the Coast Guard' 2nd high-risk/counter-terrorism unit, also parent command of all Coast Guard dive lockers) *MSST 91110 --

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

, MA (Boston Established 2003 relocation in 2018) *MSST 91111 --

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

(Established 2004) (Disassembled 2011) *MSST 91112 --

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

(Established 2004) *MSST 91114 --

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, FL (Established 2005)

Personnel

Each MSST has active duty personnel.

References

External links