Final Program and E-Sessions now available for the National HSC/AMSC Conference!

The Joint Harbor Safety Committee (HSC) and Area Maritime Security Committee (AMSC) Conference occurred on June 7-9, 2011, in Houston, Texas. The combined event provided an opportunity for the committees to engage in information exchange on current challenges, best practices, case studies, and lessons learned. The conference offered the opportunity for the committees to engage both public- and private-sector leaders on issues relating to marine transportation and harbor safety and security.

The Transportation Research Board co-sponsored this event and has the conference program and e-sessions available for viewing on their conference website.  Click here to view the e-sessions.  This will allow you to watch videos of all the conference presentations.

DOWNTOWN HOUSTON SELECTED AS PRIMARY CANDIDATE FOR 2011 HARBOR SAFETY MARITIME SECURITY CONFERENCE

On Tuesday August 3rd the Harbor Safety / Maritime Security (HSMS) Conference planning committee agreed to select historic Downtown Houston as the primary site for the 2011 conference. The date ranges are still being finalized but early May and early June are contenders. The next step will be for the Transportation Research Board to develop and release a request for proposals from potential venues. There are several hotels in the area which may be interested in hosting the conference.  We won't have a final date and venue to report until all responses to the RFP are in, evaluated and a contract signed.

Here is some information on the area from the Houston Downtown Management District:

“Downtown Houston is booming thanks to an unprecedented amount of public and private investment-- developers have spent more than $4 billion in the last decade to transform downtown into a vital city center.


Downtown Houston is home to dramatic 20th Century skyscrapers housing the offices where many of downtown’s 140,000 workers are employed, a world-class Theater District, a growing residential population, a popular nightlife scene centered in the Historic District, new light rail, an enhanced convention center and numerous new hotels. It also boasts two state-of-the-art sports facilities that attract millions throughout the year.


The Houston Downtown Management District has facilitated many of the public and private projects that have transformed downtown over the last decade. The District began its revitalization efforts in 1995. To accelerate the renewal of the city's urban core, the District set several important goals with quality of life as the underlying theme: building a lasting constituency for downtown; recruiting investors, retailers and tenants while retaining those already downtown; and making downtown clean, safe and attractive.”

Downtown Houston will no doubt be an excellent location for next year’s conference. Please monitor this Blog closely for additional information. We’ll post it as quickly as it becomes available. In the mean time, you can learn more about Downtown Houston by visiting the area’s website (please note that the Coast Guard does not endorse this website nor any specific business highlighted): http://www.downtownhouston.org/

We look forward to seeing you in Downtown Houston next spring.

Houston in 2011?

Members of the Southeast Texas Waterway Advisory Committee (SETWAC) and Houston-Galvaston Navigation Safety Advisory Committee's (HOGANSAC) bid to host the 2011 National HSC/AMSC conference was resoundingly supported during the HSC Chair's meeting during the 2010 conference in Jersey City. We applaud SETWAC and HOGANSAC for stepping up to this challenge!


There is a lot of work ahead for both committees to make next year's conference a success, and there is not much time to get it done. They are actively seeking volunteers to be part of the Planning and Hosting Committee. The initial planning meeting will be in Houston on Wednesday, June 30th.


At the meeting they will discuss the location, venue for the evening event, sponsors and exhibitors. What we know so far is that the conference will be held somewhere in the Houston area. The date may be moved up a bit, instead of the usual dates in May or June. Because date selection is always a challenge, nothing is finalized yet and the planning committee will have to work closely with Coast Guard Headquarters to ensure a suitable date is picked.


It will take several sponsors, exhibitors, and volunteers to make this conference a great success. We hope that you will be able to attend and participate in making 2011 the best Harbor Safety Conference yet. If you would like to participate in the planning process please send an email to LCDR Ellis Moose at ellis.h.moose@uscg.mil. We can refer you to the proper contacts in Texas. You can also monitor this blog where we'll keep you up to date on the status of the conference. Once planning conference calls start, we'll keep you informed of the dates and times of those as well.