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Editor: Rod Sullivan
Profession: Maritime Attorney

Category: Safety at Sea

Rescue 21 is the new name for the U.S. Coast Guard radio system formerly known as National Distress and Response System Modernization Program (NDRSMP). It is supposed to be a network of large radio beacons which would permit the Coast Guard, through triangulation, to pinpoint the location of a radio distress signal. That is, of course, a good thing but that is not all it does.

We assign Congress the responsibility of seeing whether a project like this is economically justified and some must be wondering at this point whether it is. The system was estimated to cost $250 million ($1 per person) in 1999. Today, the cost is projected at $710 million ($2.84 per person). Is that too much? I don't know. I do know that even as a law abiding citizen, I worry about surrendering too much privacy to the government.

So far, a single radio tower is operational in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is unclear whether the tower at the Eastern Shore of Virginia is operating yet. The next one to come on line will be in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The first rescue attributed to the system was made in November 2005. Full operating capacity is estimated to occur in 2011.

The question which I have is whether this creates a whole new level of complexity for boat operators and whether I want the Coast Guard to be able to track every movement of every boat on the water. According to the Coast Guard to identify the boater's position boaters "must register for a Mobile Maritime Service Identity (MMSI) Number and connect their DSC (digital selective calling) radio to their GPS receiver." Does that mean the Coast Guard will be tracking all boat traffic the way air traffic controllers track all aircraft traffic? Can they poll your MMSI at any time and find out where your DSC radio is? Do they need a warrant to do it, or is it a public radio signal which any govenmental agency can access at anytime. Is this a mandatory system? If you don't have it on, does that mean that the Coast Guard will assume you are doing something illegal?

According to the Coast Guard "Rescue 21 will be used to protect our maritime borders. Law Enforcement and Coast Guard assets will use the VHF - FM communications suite to intercept targets of interest and pass vital information. Rescue 21 will be a conduit for providing protected communications on Coast Guard assets."

My concern is that while this is being billed as a search and rescue tool, it is really more of a national security tool. If so, how much tracking is warranted for national security? How much privacy should people have while they are in their boats?