Bi-National Workshop to Expedite Maritime Commerce Recovery

Bi-National Workshop to
Expedite Maritime Commerce Recovery
Through Regional Collaboration

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About the Beyond the Border
Action Plan

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on February 4, 2011, the Beyond the Border initiative to ensure that the vital economic partnership that joins our two countries continues to be the cornerstone of our economic competitiveness and security as we jointly face the challenges of the 21st century.

The Beyond the Border Working Group has proposed the Development of a framework for swiftly managing traffic in the event of an emergency, with the goal being to expedite maritime commerce recovery through regional collaboration between Canada and the United States. Development of the Framework will be guided by a Pilot Project in British Columbia Lower Mainland - United States Pacific Northwest region. Specifically, the Pilot project will leverage region-based, cross-border maritime resilience and recovery committees. The outcomes of this pilot will guide similar work in the Atlantic and Great Lakes regions beginning in 2013.

Special Invitation

July 10th | 10:00 am - 3:30 pm

Bell Harbor International Conference Center

Seattle, Washington

The objective of the workshop is to enable collaboration at the regional level (US and Canada) to expedite maritime commerce recovery following an emergency, disaster or disruption. This initiative is part of The US-Canada Beyond the Border and Perimeter Security Action Plan to develop information sharing protocols to swiftly recover from any maritime disruption. Your knowledge, insight, ideas and concerns are critical to building the best possible commerce recovery strategy for our region.

Key questions to be addressed in the workshop:

If port facilities are disabled how will your business cope? What are the re-routing options?
What information do you need from whom before and after a disaster, and how will you get it?
Do you know where your business fits into the response and recovery priorities of government and major suppliers?
What interdependencies and critical links exist that could impact your operations, the regional economy, and maritime transportation system?
How could your business temporarily accept additional cargo if a neighboring port was disabled?
What can your business do now, before a disaster, to become more resilient?
How resilient are the suppliers and contractors your business depends on?

Join Rear Admiral Keith Taylor, Commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District, as well as partnering organizations, US Coast Guard, Transport Canada, and the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER), for this important workshop focused on developing joint protocols to swiftly manage maritime traffic in the event of an emergency.

Who should attend?

Ports of Seattle, Tacoma, and others from the Puget Sound
Port Metro Vancouver, Port of Nanaimo, Port of Prince Rupert
Critical Infrastructure service providers (power, telecom, water, IT, transportation, fuel distributors, etc)
Commodity Shippers
US Coast Guard
Rail operations
Terminal operators
Truck, freight, tug and barge operators
Cruise Lines
Canadian Coast Guard
Military
State/Provincial and local government emergency management services
Labor
Representatives of marine transportation system users: e.g. Retail Associations
Transport Canada
State/Prov. and local Transportation
Ferries
Customs and Border Patrol
Canadian Border Services Agency
Law enforcement

The workshop will be followed by a cross-border tabletop exercise in October.

Detailed agenda and background materials will be forwarded prior to the event.

If you are unable to attend, please forward to the most appropriate person in your organization to represent you. For more information, contact Brandon Hardenbrook at brandon.hardenbrook@pnwer.org.