Guarding the Great Lakes: Athena and the Northern Maritime Border Initiative

The U.S. northern maritime border poses a significant challenge for U.S. and Canadian law-enforcement agencies. The Great Lakes border between the two nations, which extends over 1,500 miles, and the Saint Lawrence Seaway teem with commercial and recreational traffic routinely moving back and forth between the territorial waters separating the United States and Canada.  More than 600 U.S.- and foreign-flag commercial vessels and 5.4 million recreational boats transit these same waters, providing ample camouflage for smugglers and terrorists.  

U.S. and Canadian law-enforcement agencies have initiated a variety of joint efforts and experimented with various technologies to minimize the collective vulnerability of the two nations. A key joint initiative is a memorandum of understanding establishing a regional strategy for maritime security for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System.  

In the memorandum, the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – plus the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol – agreed to cooperatively institute a defense-in-depth strategy that would, on the one hand, preserve freedom of the seas and ensure the uninterrupted flow of shipping, and, on the other, facilitate the legitimate cross-border movement of goods and people. 

With over 200 net million tons of cargo passing annually through the ports on the Great Lakes, the economic importance of the initiative is already substantial – and growing annually. A major component of the defense-in-depth plan requires the conduct of joint U.S.-Canadian examinations of vessels entering the St. Lawrence Seaway (at Montreal) to ensure that the vessels are in During the test-and-evaluation stage law-enforcement officials were able to use Athena to track and evaluate more than 3,500 boats, and even low-flying aircraft compliance with applicable security, safety, and environmental laws before proceeding into the Great Lakes-Seaway system.  

Transport Canada Security inspectors take the lead during these examinations, with U.S. Coast Guard personnel acting as observers.  In addition to the joint operations out of Montreal, U.S. and Canadian law-enforcement officials also share information out of maritime centers in Halifax, Nova Scotia (on the east coast of Canada), and Vancouver, British Columbia (on Canada’s west coast). A third maritime center is planned for the Great Lakes area. North and South; Local and National A particularly promising border-security technology recently tested on Lake Erie is the “Athena” integrated sensor and data system, developed by the Raytheon Corporation in what was called “Project Athena” (but also known as “Operation Lakeview”). During the test-and-evaluation stage of the project, law-enforcement officials were able to use the system to track and evaluate more than 3,500 boats, and even low-flying aircraft, over a 23-day period.   Officials of the two nations said they were impressed with the system’s capabilities and potential, and are actively pursuing the funds needed to permanently install the system along the northern maritime border. 

The Athena system also was tested along the U.S. southern border, officials said, with equally promising results. The flow of maritime commerce between Canada and the United States as well as through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System contributes significantly to the economic well-being of both nations.  Businesses on both sides of the border depend upon the timely flow of goods and materials to replenish their inventories and sustain production. Overzealous security efforts to ensure the legitimacy of cross-border movements, and/or attacks against critical infrastructure within the system, officials of both countries agree, could create unanticipated disruptions that might seriously affect not only local communities but also the national economies of both the United States and Canada. The bi-national, trans-state, and trans-agency cooperation for regional maritime security that already has been implemented, according to the same officials, as well as the development of supporting surveillance technologies, are critical forward steps, they said, toward a balanced-security regime. 

Christopher Doane

Christopher Doane and Dr. Joseph DiRenzo III are retired Coast Guard officers and visiting fellows at the Joint Forces Staff College. Both of them have written extensively on maritime security issues. Any opinions expressed in the preceding article represent their own views and are not necessarily the official views of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Joseph DiRenzo III

Dr. Joseph DiRenzo III is a retired Coast Guard officer. He's visiting fellows at the Joint Forces Staff College. He has written extensively on maritime security issues. Any opinions expressed in the preceding article represent their own views and are not necessarily the official views of the U.S. Coast Guard.

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