**1998 Year of the Ocean**

**THE OCEANS AND NATIONAL SECURITY**

**Contents**

1\. INTRODUCTION B-2

2\. NAVAL OPERATIONS B-2

3\. COAST GUARD OPERATIONS B-7

4\. SPECIAL QUALITIES OF NAVY AND COAST GUARD PLATFORMS B-9

5\. OCEAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN SUPPORT OF

NATIONAL SECURITY B-10

6\. LOGISTICS SUPPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE B-13

7\. SOUND MANAGEMENT OF THE OCEAN'S ENVIRONMENT

AND RESOURCES: ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY B-15

8\. THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT B-18

9\. MANAGEMENT ISSUES B-21

10\. EDUCATION AND EXPLORATION B-22

11\. CONCLUSION B-23

12\. LIST OF ACRONYMS B-24

This Year of the Ocean document was prepared as a background discussion
paper and

does not necessarily reflect the policies of the U.S. Government or the
U.S. Government

agencies that participated in its preparation.

**INTRODUCTION**

The United Nations has designated 1998 as the "International Year of the
Ocean." This reflects a growing international awareness of the paramount
importance of the oceans. For the United States, the oceans are
important for both their global economic and military security.[^1]
Public policy in the United States, along with private enterprise, have
long been shaped by a keen appreciation of the strategic importance of
the seas to the nation's economic well-being and global security.

Oceans, seas, and waterways connect most of the nations and people of
the world, either directly or indirectly. As modern communications and
transport bring the world's population closer together, the oceans
become more important as avenues of connectivity than as barriers of
separation. Throughout the nation's history, the seagoing members of
U.S. armed and auxiliary forces,[^2] and a wide variety of civilian
maritime participants,[^3] have been involved in operations at sea and
have assisted in articulating U.S. national security interests in
matters pertaining to the oceans. It is on behalf of all those seagoing
professionals who are deployed on U.S. flagged vessels around the globe
that this paper is offered to promote a greater understanding of the
relationship between the oceans and national security.

**NAVAL OPERATIONS**

**Global Mobility and Access**

The role of naval power in U.S. military strategy is in transition. With
the end of the Cold War, the United States is much less likely to face
the prospects of a world war. However, uncertainty remains over when,
where, and how future conflicts involving U.S. armed forces will occur.
Draw-downs in the size of U.S. forces maintained, and a more diffuse and
complex political environment, have put a premium on flexible forces
that can quickly move anywhere and remain there for a long time. These
forces must function without undue logistic strain to respond to threats
to international peace or security. There is also a premium on flexible
forces that are capable of multiple missions. Maritime forces have
inherent strengths which make them America's best tool to effectively
meet most emergent and changing military situations.

Through the use of the world's oceans by U.S. forces, the advantage of
on-scene capabilities for simultaneously executing all three components
of the National Military Strategy is possible without infringing on any
nation's sovereignty. According to the Chief of Naval Operations: "The
Navy contribution to our national security objectives is defined by the
major components of the National Military Strategy: peacetime
engagement, deterrence and conflict prevention, and controlling
crises."[^4] This role is rooted in the fundamental ability of the
Navy-Marine Corps-Coast Guard Team to maneuver independently of the
control of other nations and win. This is done through an ability to
operate in international waters with forward deployed forces in the
highest possible state of readiness.

Modern military systems allow the United States to hold potential
adversaries at risk at ever greater distances. As technologies shrink
the globe, the United States is effectively closer to potential enemies
who also have long-distance military capabilities. To counter these
capabilities, U.S. forces must be prepared to use the oceans to meet
potential adversaries on their home ground or on waters far from U.S.
coasts. In this very important way, the oceans can buffer North America
from conflict overseas.

Key to the ability to provide trained, ready forces anywhere in the
world at any time to meet our national security objectives is freedom of
navigation. U.S. public vessels provide a forward U.S. presence to
protect our own and allied interests. Freedom of the seas also ensures
that commercial and military cargoes can move freely by sea. The U.S.
has a special interest in maintaining secure, stable lines of
communication at sea throughout the world. As the 21st century
approaches, the United States can look back at fifty years of relative
peace on the high seas. Maintaining this combination of security and
navigational freedom of the seas is a fundamental condition for global
peace, security, and prosperity.

**Overflight Freedom**

Freedom of navigation applies not just to the oceans but to the airways
above, and ensures that aircraft are free to move passengers and cargo
over the oceans to their destinations. Freedom of overflight, like
freedom of navigation, permits military forces to respond in times of
crisis and is essential to free trade. No one can legally deny anyone
the right to fly over the oceans in international airspace, and no
landing rights are required for military flight operations at sea. The
fact that aircraft operating independently or in conjunction with
warships may operate up to 12 nautical miles from any littoral (coastal)
state eases access ashore.

Both maritime and airborne freedom of navigation require assured safe
passage, free from the threat of harm. Both require provisions for
safety, rescue, and navigational assistance. Freedom of overflight above
the oceans is as important as the freedom of maritime navigation, in
both commercial and military terms.

**Power Projection**

The oceans provide access to littoral states. Military presence on the
high seas provides the United States with the capability to project
power to areas of international tensions, to help friends and allies,
and to preserve international peace and stability. A range of options is
thereby available to U.S. foreign policy makers. Military power may be
projected symbolically as a diplomatic goodwill gesture or to deter war.

Mobility, endurance, lift, and response are the components of global
projection of military power over the oceans. Sealift and airlift can
transport land forces and materiel across the oceans to most trouble
spots worldwide. Naval forces have the unique ability to remain at their
stations for months, ensuring continued presence on the oceans wherever
trouble may arise.

**Deterrence**

Naval forces are among the most useful of diplomatic tools. Policy
makers can send them to over two-thirds of the world's surface at any
time without having to obtain advance basing rights or prior permission
to conduct naval movements. Having a sound capability for deploying
military forces to almost any coastal (littoral) area makes it possible
for the United States to provide the tangible leadership that is
necessary to facilitate the assembly of coalition forces, or negotiate
forward basing rights should the circumstances so require.

While U.S. maritime forces may not be immediately visible offshore, they
are a potent deterrent to potential adversaries since such forces can
arrive quickly and remain indefinitely. Routine forward deployment
provides the President of the United States with "on-call military
presence" almost anywhere in the world and furnishes the capability to
project military power and show credible resolve without provoking war.
This presence also reminds potential adversaries of U.S. military
capability and resolve to enforce international law. In this regard, the
oceans and U.S. naval forces provide the United States with unparalleled
peacemaking capability and promote the rule of law.

**Sea Denial and Operations Other Than War**

As world attention turns from the old ideological East-West
confrontation of the Cold War to the economic disparity between
developed free market societies and developing nations, there has been a
re-emergence of maritime interception operations in situations short of
hostilities. There has been no decrease in crises that require military
operations other than war. Transoceanic operating and logistic
capability permit the United States to take a lead in such operations,
often as a member of a multinational coalition.

Since 1989, several multilateral embargoes have been enforced by
coalition naval forces. These have been supported by the consensus of
the international community, and conducted under international law. Such
embargoes are best understood as attempts to maintain world order,
peace, and human rights rather than as acts of war. Modern maritime
interception operations are typically mandated by resolutions of the
United Nations Security Council, and normally allow humanitarian
shipments of food and medicine to the civilian population. Naval "visit
and search" operations are conducted with respect to international law
and custom.

Examples of maritime interception operations include the multinational
maritime interdiction operations against Haiti, Serbia/Montenegro, and
Iraq. These operations are less than airtight and require time to take
effect. However, they are part of the foreign policy process which led
to the implementation of democracy in Haiti, motivated Serbia to accept
the Dayton Accord, and reduced Iraq's capability for military aggression
both before and after the Gulf War. The United States has been at the
forefront of this emerging area of modern operational peacemaking.

In the realm of military operations other than war, naval forces also
contribute presence and amphibious capability, along with the ability to
apply power at varying levels of intensity in "smaller scale
contingencies." Such maritime and littoral contingencies include:

-   counterpiracy

-   interdiction of drugs

-   counterproliferation operations against weapons of mass destruction

-   migrant control and refugee operations

-   interdiction of illegal migrant smuggling

-   peacekeeping operations (such as in Bosnia)

-   intervention in complex humanitarian emergencies (such as in
    Somalia)

-   disaster relief

-   non-combatant evacuation operations

-   support of search and rescue missions

**Information Warfare**

The ocean environment enhances military command, control, and
communications. Ocean-borne platforms can provide military units
deployed overseas with constant, secure, real-time communication with
tactical and strategic leadership in the United States. Information
superiority has several components: gathering, processing, and
disseminating information; information operations to defend against
attack; and information operations directed against an adversary's
information.[^5] Information warfare is in its infancy but holds forth
the hope of military dominance without the use of physical force or loss
of life.

**Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (IS&R)**

The forward presence of ocean-based military forces enable the United
States to gain a better understanding of developing political military
situations. Developing better intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance are key ways to improve awareness of the battlespace, to
track the disposition of enemy forces, to enhance transparency among
nations (i.e., reduce the risk of accidental war), and to monitor U.S.
allied and neutral warfighting assets. Better IS&R technology permits
more precise tracking of enemy assets, allowing for more effective
disabling of opponents with less use of firepower, less brute force, and
less chance of collateral damage to noncombatants. It also promises the
potential for improved tactical and strategic awareness, enabling forces
to "fight smarter." Thus, the use of up-to-date information technology
and modern sensors can help reduce battlespace confusion, often referred
to as the "fog of war."

**Tactical Environmental Support**

A thorough understanding of the dynamics of the ocean environment is
necessary for the success of maritime missions. The Navy's operational
oceanography community[^6] is responsible for understanding the effects
of the natural environment on the planning and execution of naval
operations, and for interpreting atmospheric and ocean phenomena for
forces worldwide. This community must respond to new technological
opportunities and to new mission needs.

The ocean and marine environment affect all aspects of naval warfare.
Amphibious, mine, and special warfare forces all require rapid, accurate
environmental information to support their basic operations. The ocean's
structure, which varies due to subtle changes in salinity and
temperature, determines how sound propagates through water and thus
affects the use of sonars; likewise, the environment can be used to find
or hide submarines. Similarly, changes in temperature and moisture
through the atmosphere affect radars used to detect incoming aircraft or
missiles and can create "ducts" where radars cannot detect incoming
threats. Today's high-tech weaponry increasingly requires sophisticated
environmental inputs for optimal performance and to support the
precision required to engage hostile targets while avoiding collateral
damage to civilians persons, property, and other noncombatants.

In coastal regions, the dynamics of marine weather and ocean processes
are closely intertwined and change rapidly in both space and time.
Accurate short-term and long-term modeling of ocean effects can
contribute greatly to the success of naval operations. Continued rapid
advancements in the modeling field, and especially in the modeling of
coastal areas, will continue to maximize the operational capabilities of
naval forces.

New technology is continually being exploited, including the use and
development of new satellite sensors to collect data
remotely\--especially in regions where access is limited. Microsensor
technology is being exploited to create small, often expendable sensors
such as drifting buoys and miniaturized weather stations to gather
information on microscale features. Relatively small portable sensors
are being used on-scene to conduct rapid coastal surveys and measure
near-shore underwater obstacles.

Despite progress in remote sensing of the environment, vast areas of the
world's coastal zones remain devoid of data. Military commanders will
continue to require data with ever greater resolution and accuracy to
enhance their margin of safety and optimize their decision making.
Additionally, advances in computer technologies are needed to analyze
such data and improve predictions of the effects of the environment on
naval operations.

**COAST GUARD OPERATIONS**

Three U.S. uniformed armed services operate on the world's oceans: the
Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard. Each has a different
mission and unique capabilities. The Navy forward deploys heavily armed
air, surface, and subsurface platforms forward to carry our nation's
battles overseas and check adversaries on "blue water." The Marines
respond in times of crisis with ship-borne amphibious expeditionary
forces to carry the fight forward and ashore from the sea. The Coast
Guard's national security missions include national defense, maritime
safety, maritime law enforcement, and marine environmental protection.

**National Defense Operations**

Because of the special capabilities of their vessels and the training of
their crews, Coast Guard units play a critical support role and
sometimes lead in enforcing UN sanctions and international embargoes at
sea. Although the Coast Guard recently deployed its own surface assets
to enforce the UN sanctions against Iraq in the Northern Arabian Gulf,
it is often the case that a Coast Guard boarding team operates from a
Navy vessel. The Navy and Coast Guard also provide for harbor defense in
the event of a contingency involving maritime transport of military
equipment to provide the joint commanders with safe maritime
transportation into and out of strategic ports.

**Maritime Safety**

The Coast Guard is charged with ensuring the safe operation of
commercial and private vessels, safe movement of vessels in and out of
ports, and salvage and recovery operations. For example, the Coast Guard
has responsibility for maritime search and rescue, but often relies on
commercial mariners and airmen, as well as the Navy, to provide vital
surface and air assets to assist in such operations, particularly when
the operations are long range. The Coast Guard's Aids to Navigation
Program and Vessel Traffic Services provide for the safe and efficient
movement of vessels into and out of high traffic ports.

**Maritime Law Enforcement**

Interagency cooperation has been the key to the United States'
increasing effectiveness in the vital area of maritime law enforcement.
Such efforts involve the Department of State, the Department of Defense,
the Justice Department, the Coast Guard, the Customs Service, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the
Environmental Protection Agency, the National Marine Fisheries Service,
and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as well as numerous
state and local law enforcement agencies. These agencies cooperate to
prevent shipments of contraband by sea and preserve the living marine
resources of the United States.

In addition to being an armed service, the Coast Guard is also the only
federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in both U.S. waters and
on the high seas. In this arena, the Coast Guard is the primary enforcer
of U.S. laws that include customs and border control statutes, marine
resource protection regulations, and the interdiction of contraband.
This law enforcement authority distinguishes the Coast Guard from other
branches of the armed forces and provides the nation with unique options
for responding to national security challenges.[^7] The Coast Guard's
maritime law enforcement role was rooted in its inception as the Revenue
Cutter Service in 1790. The Service\'s 207 years of experience fighting
piracy, combating smuggling and fiscal violations, and enforcing other
U.S. laws inside U.S. waters make it the Navy's natural partner for
national security in sea denial missions, such as maritime interception
operations.

Counterdrug operations have become one of the Coast Guard\'s most
prominent law enforcement missions. The Coast Guard, as the nation's
lead agency for maritime interdiction of illegal narcotics and co-lead
agency for air interdiction, regularly conducts aggressive counterdrug
patrols throughout the Caribbean Sea, eastern Pacific Ocean, and the
Gulf of Mexico. Joint operations are frequently undertaken in a unified
environment involving several different agencies, including the
Department of Defense (the lead agency for detection and monitoring),
the Department of Justice (which prosecutes those who violate the law),
and other civil law enforcement agencies.

Enforcement of living marine resource regulations is critical to the
protection of not only the resources, but also the commercial fishing
industry. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) manages the
resources and develops regulations that are enforced at sea by the Coast
Guard and NMFS enforcement agents. Most of those matters are handled
administratively by NMFS although some actions are brought in court by
the Department of Justice. This arrangement has served the North Pacific
fisheries well and can hopefully be duplicated to preserve those few
remaining stocks off the North Atlantic coast.

The Coast Guard's prevention, enforcement, and response role in marine
environmental protection helps to reduce the amount of pollution
entering the world's waterways. In response to marine environmental
challenges, the Coast Guard has equipped its newest class of ocean-going
buoy tenders with a pollution response capability. As a world leader in
marine environmental protection, the Coast Guard, in conjunction with
other agencies, shapes the safety and pollution control standards for
international and domestic maritime transportation through its
policy-making activities and enforcement of the Marine Protection
Research and Sanctuaries Act[^8], the Clean Water Act[^9], and the Shore
Protection Act.[^10] and other laws and regulations.

**SPECIAL QUALITIES OF NAVY AND COAST GUARD PLATFORMS**

Platforms operating at sea bring special capabilities to the table in
those situations in which U.S. military forces must be ordered into
action to meet one or more components of our national strategy of
peacetime engagement, deterrence and conflict prevention, or conflict
control. Navy and Coast Guard vessels have unique attributes of carrying
capacity, the endurance inherent to the duty cycle, mobility,
sovereignty, and other abilities to resist attack:

> *Carrying capacity:* Ships can duplicate land bases because of their
> ability to carry a variety of essential defense functions. Theater
> missile defense is one example. Although space systems may contribute
> to the launch detection of hostile missile(s), large, heavy radars
> based at sea are needed to either detect, in the case of depressed
> trajectories, or to manage the interception of hostile missile
> threats. Ships are the obvious platform for such systems since they
> can carry the detection systems as well as large quantities of
> interceptors. Because of their carrying capacity, ships are also ideal
> platforms for almost all heavy logistics evolutions, command and
> control duties, space tracking, and intelligence operations.
>
> *Duty cycle and Mobility*: The constant presence of a ship gives U.S.
> military planners a significant advantage. Space sensors generally
> observe intermittently, and airborne sensors, unless based aboard
> ship, require large numbers to maintain a presence far from base.
> Because ships can often perform their missions far from a potential
> adversary's coastline, they can continuously gather valuable
> information without threatening or alerting them.
>
> *Sovereignty:* Warships and public vessels engaged in non-commercial
> service enjoy sovereign immunity. Therefore, questions of landing or
> access rights do not arise if U.S. ships are operating on the high
> seas or transiting through littoral areas and through straits.
>
> *Defense against physical attack* and *jamming:* A ship standing well
> offshore is much more secure from physical attack than warfare centers
> ashore, and it has the carrying capacity to serve as the platform of
> choice for many information collection operations against an actual or
> potential adversary. Warfare centers ashore may be surrounded by a
> hostile populace and if attacked from over the horizon, must defend in
> a more cluttered environment. A moving ship is much harder to target
> with a missile or truck-bomb than an installation ashore, whose static
> coordinates can be read from a map or a GPS receiver. The positioning
> of warfare capabilities offshore provides separation from the
> land-based jammers, thus limiting their effect.

**OCEAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY**

**IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL SECURITY**

The ocean has always had a profound influence on human life and
activities. It has been an important source of food and means of
commerce. In recent decades, the United States has been the world leader
both in basic ocean studies and research on the ocean's practical
influence on human activities. This pioneering work has been largely the
result of remarkably successful partnerships between federal agencies
and universities, in which federal agencies support the research of
academic scientists who provide internal and external research through a
variety of mechanisms.

Oceanographic research, funded in large part by the federal government,
is important to many of the nation's social concerns, including national
security. World political changes are redefining national defense
interests, and altering our research and development priorities for the
littoral areas where our national defense operations are most likely to
take place. Experience gained in the 1991 Gulf War, highlighted the need
for better information related to oceanic and coastal processes.

**U.S. Oceanography since World War II**[^11]

World War II thrust the United States into global affairs, and its many
sea campaigns not only drew public interest to the ocean but highlighted
our lack of understanding of it. Most members of the small marine
science community turned to military oriented work in uniform, in the
civil service, or at universities and related institutions. Academic
ships, as well as those of the federal government, were put on Navy
research and surveying tasks. The Navy needed oceanographic help in
everything from submarine warfare to amphibious landings. This
assistance contributed to the war effort and demonstrated to the nation
that marine science was more than an abstract endeavor and could
contribute to the public good on many levels.

Since World War II, the United States has been a world leader in most
areas of oceanography. Vannevar Bush's *Science: The Endless Frontier*
is still the classic statement of the essential ingredients of
scientific excellence. He noted that "without scientific progress, no
amount of achievement in other directions can ensure our health,
prosperity, and security as a nation in the modern world. This essential
new knowledge can only be obtained through basic scientific research."
The plan of Vannevar Bush for government support of university science
led to the formation of the Office of Naval Research (ONR), which is
charged with ensuring the development of strong academic research
programs in scientific fields of interest to the Navy. The Cold War and
the threat from both surface vessels and, particularly, submarines led
ONR to conclude that expanding and strengthening the basic science of
the ocean were in the national interest.

The postwar and post-Sputnik periods from 1960 to 1980 were marked by
growing national awareness of the world and an intense interest in
science. In marine science, interest broadened globally , leading to
such major ocean-related programs as the International Geophysical Year,
the Deep Sea Drilling Project and the International Decade of Ocean
Exploration. While originally responsible for the postwar academic
expansion of oceanography, the Navy is progressively concentrating its
support in a more limited number of Navy-relevant areas, but continues
to provide some oceanographic research vessels to U.S. academic
institutions and provide research opportunities for use of specialized
platforms.[^12]

Oceanographic research studies with national security implications
include hydrodynamics, marine life, the interaction of seawater with
ocean boundaries, ocean acoustics, and geoacoustics. Knowledge of the
exchanges of energy, heat, and mass at the ocean-atmosphere interface is
important to climate and weather prediction. Oceanographic research has
advanced from the past era of exploration to one of increased
observation and description of oceans systems and interactions with the
atmosphere.

**Beyond Ocean Scientific Research: Civil Applications**

Over the years, practical oceanic research has resulted in spin-offs
which benefit everyone worldwide. Navigation charts and aids are the
prime example of a naval contribution which benefits civilian mariners
worldwide. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) is chartered
to provide DoD-wide mapping, charting, and geodesy support. Under the
Navy's direction, NIMA is producing digital replications of traditional
paper nautical charts to support the Navy's transition from paper to
digital navigation products. Known as Digital Nautical Charts (DNC),™
these digital charts allow near real-time display of one's own GPS
position and significantly enhance the safety of navigation at sea.
Through joint efforts between the Navy and NIMA, new survey sounding
information will also be seamlessly incorporated into future editions of
DNC™. NIMA's world leadership in the production of digital charts holds
considerable promise for the civil sector.

The Navy also took the lead in providing LORAN and the two-dimensional
TRANSIT satellite navigation system for maritime navigation. These
programs led to the development of the current standard, the joint
three-dimensional NAVSTAR global positioning system (GPS). GPS relies in
part on space-borne clocks developed by the Naval Research Laboratory's
Timation program.[^13] Mariners worldwide benefit from these navigation
aids.

The research into secure and reliable means of maritime communication
has extended into the civilian sector. Financial institutions are
studying methods engineered for the military for safe, reliable, and
rapid means of moving large volumes of data, secure from the danger of
disruption or unauthorized monitoring. The Internet, the result of
communications programs funded by the Department of Defense, has
provided incalculable benefits worldwide. There are countless other
examples of the fruits of military research spilling over into the field
of marine engineering, marine environmental and pollution control
technology, meteorology systems, communications, and biology.

**Ocean Data, the Public, and the Navy**

The Navy is a major provider of oceanographic information as well as an
end-user and much of this information has been freely distributed as a
matter of course. While being careful to ensure that data gathered for
military operations is handled in accordance with existing international
norms, the end of the Cold War has enabled the Navy to declassify a
significant amount of formerly classified data, some of which has been
useful to scientific pursuits.

Procedures to allow increased access by civilian scientists to the
Navy's underwater surveillance system[^14] (SOSUS) data are being
implemented. Initial investigations of civil applications, coordinated
closely with NOAA, proved remarkably fruitful. For example, a short
demonstration project that was conducted provided more information on
marine mammal movements than all the data previously collected. SOSUS
also proved to be the most effective monitoring system for underwater
earthquakes, providing the possibility of better tsunami (tidal wave)
predictions. NOAA is investigating whether SOSUS could aid offshore
fisheries enforcement in detecting illegal drift-net deployments.
Researchers also want to use the system for acoustic monitoring of the
ocean water to detect change in global climate, relying on the premise
that sound travels at different speeds through water depending on
density and temperature.

Greater public access to formerly classified Navy information, and
relaxation of foreign disclosure and export controls are the result of
changes in the world's political/military situation. In the late 1980s,
the Navy declassified selected Arctic under-ice data collected by Navy
submarines for use in climate change research. An Environmental Task
Force comprised of academics, scientists, and government officials was
later established to determine the potential usefulness of classified
intelligence and defense databases for addressing serious global
environmental problems. The Central Intelligence Agency has agreed to
release millions of 1960s era satellite images, and the Navy has
declassified all sea level (altimetry) data from GEOSAT satellites,
which researchers have used to improve the nation's knowledge of global
seafloor features and the earth's gravity field. A Navy working group is
completing review of additional data sets for declassification.

**LOGISTICS SUPPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE**

**Commercial Transport**

International and maritime trade have been growing at twice the rate of
the world's economy for some time. Large merchant vessels are the most
flexible and cost-effective modes of intercontinental and coastal
transport. Increasingly, new markets and new resources are found
overseas. As the world evolves from a collection of disconnected
national and regional economies to one global inter-linked economy,
freedom of commercial transit on the high seas and through straits and
other navigational choke points becomes ever more important. At the same
time, the ability of military forces to respond abroad in case of crisis
requires the sealift and logistic support that can only be provided by
the U.S. merchant fleet.

Military and commercial mobility on the high seas are linked. Commercial
navigation depends on naval forces to keep open the lines of
communication. Naval forces depend on commercial trade for logistics
support. Commercial navigation requires security and freedom from both
state-sponsored interference and freelance piracy. It requires freedom
from illegal regulatory controls by foreign governments, as well as safe
and efficient use and access to the nation's ports and waterways.

**Sealift, Shipbuilding and Repair, and Maritime Employment**

The United States must assure a viable maritime industrial base to
satisfy its commercial and military requirements. Cabotage laws, which
govern navigation and trading along the coast and include such statutes
as The Passenger Ship Act of 1886[^15] and The Merchant Marine Act of
1920 (Jones Act),[^16] are common to over 45 countries. By imposing
citizenship and construction requirements for vessels to engage in
domestic trade, these laws seek an adequate national fleet in peacetime
to sustain the nation in war. Opponents, however, argue that such laws
restrict free trade and increase costs. Government shipbuilding
subsidies or loan guarantees, such as the Maritime Loan Guarantee
Program (Title XI), are a common means used by nations to support their
industrial base. Some argue that free trade, competition, and
elimination of international subsidies could allow the nation to meet
its economic requirements. However, the President's 1993 Plan for
Competing in the International Market looks carefully at these competing
considerations and comes out in favor of a policy of limited government
support in meeting the nation's commercial and military sealift
requirements. This is set forth in *National Security Directive* *28:*

> "The U.S. national sealift objective is to ensure that sufficient
> military and civil maritime resources will be available to meet
> defense deployment and essential economic requirements in support of
> our national security strategy. The Department of Defense will
> determine the requirements for sealift of deploying forces, follow-on
> supply and sustainment, shipbuilding and ship repair. In coordination
> with the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation will
> determine the capacity of our merchant marine industries to meet these
> requirements and to provide the sealift required to support the
> essential industrial activity during wartime."

*National Security Directive* *28* reflects the link between the
seagoing armed services, U.S.-flag merchant vessels, the merchant seamen
who crew them, and the commercial maritime industrial base of ports,
shipyards, and ship repair facilities. Playing a vital national security
role since colonial days, the U.S. Merchant Marine is often referred to
as another arm of the nation's defense.

The 1992 Mobility Requirements Study, the 1995 Bottom-Up Review, and the
1997 Quadrennial Defense Review reaffirmed the requirements for "defense
deployment." To deploy U.S. forces overseas and resupply them, the U.S.
Merchant Marine provides U.S.-flag civilian-crewed commercial ships and
civilian crews to government-owned support ships. These sealift assets
account for about 95 percent of all the tonnage delivered in support of
military requirements in peacetime and during times of crisis. Naval
shipyards and ship repair facilities build and help maintain Navy and
merchant ships, activate inactive ships, and repair battle-damaged
vessels.

Over 4,800 civilian mariners crew the 200 commercial vessels with
military features which are included in the Afloat Preposition Force,
Fast Sealift Ships, Ready Reserve Force ships, Maritime Security Fleet,
and Navy Fleet Auxiliary Force. Over half of these sealift ships are
actively deployed or are in commercial service around the globe. The
Maritime Security Fleet is composed of militarily useful dry cargo
commercial vessels which receive operating assistance in return for a
commitment that these vessels, and the commercial intermodal systems
which support them, will be made available for national security
purposes if needed. Inactive strategic sealift ships are positioned
throughout the United States and overseas and are capable of being
activated within 4 to 20 days. All of the vessels in 4 or 5 day
readiness have a cadre crew of civilian mariners. These vessels have
already proven their value in supporting defense deployments in Desert
Shield and Desert Storm, Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia.

The Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration is charged
with ensuring a viable U.S. Merchant Marine and maritime industry to
meet national security needs. The Maritime Administration, in
cooperation with the Navy, supports programs directed towards sustaining
the maritime infrastructure, including maritime education and training;
National Defense Features and Title XI loans; operational differential
subsidies and maritime security agreements; and the development of
technologies and industrial processes. Since 1980, major shipbuilding in
the United States has been maintained predominantly by construction of
Naval vessels, but with the end of the Cold War, the Navy's construction
program has been significantly reduced. The Navy's proposed Fiscal Year
1997-2003 shipbuilding program will average less than six ships a year
compared to 10 ships per year in Fiscal Year 1992-1997 and 19 new ships
per year during the 1980s. To maintain the "shipyard mobilization base,"
necessary to build, repair and activate Navy and merchant ships, more
commercial ship construction is needed. In 1996, the United States
constructed only 1.8 percent of the world's gross tonnage; Japan and
Korea accounted for almost 60 percent.

Present programs recognize that the decline in the number of oceangoing
ships operated, repaired, or built in the United States impacts the
industrial base of shipyards and their labor force. There are over 280
privately owned firms of varying capabilities, employing over 98,000
workers, involved in shipbuilding and ship repair in the United States.
However, only 43 yards are capable of dry-docking vessels of 122 meters
in length or over,[^17] and only 6 shipyards are building Navy combatant
ships. This impacts the Navy with respect to the number of U.S.
facilities and qualified shipyard workers available to activate, build,
and repair active and naval auxiliary vessels in times of national
emergency. The United States has to assure a viable military industrial
base to meet it's military sealift needs. While this requirement
receives less attention than other military budget items, it is of great
importance to National Security and will be subject to continuous review
and debate.

**SOUND MANAGEMENT OF THE OCEAN'S ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCES:
ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY**

**Environmental Security Challenges and Response**

The Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention is a fundamental framework for the
array of international agreements[^18] that protect ocean access,
maintain the environmental quality of the oceans, and guard against
imprudent exploitation of marine resources. In the past, the rigor of
the ocean environment alone was sufficient to safeguard ocean resources
from over-exploitation. Scientific progress brought technology, which in
turn put living oceanic resources within reach for commercial harvest
and seabed extraction. Nations began to face overfishing, as whalers and
giant drift nets depleted stocks and even threatened species with
extinction. There was also uncertainty over ownership and sovereignty of
hydrocarbons and minerals and threats posed to the marine environment
from oil spills associated with oil exploration and transportation.
Because all nations enjoy the benefits of proper management of the
world's natural resources, responsible international management of ocean
resources is in the interest of all nations.

Recognizing that national and global security are enhanced by protection
of ocean resources, the Navy, Coast Guard and National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) have mounted a combined effort to detect, monitor, and
suppress illegal large-scale high-seas driftnet activity.[^19] The
Departments of Justice and State are addressing these illegal activities
in legal and diplomatic fora, and in 1991, Navy operational monitoring
assets began being used for high-seas driftnet detection. In an effort
to assist in the recovery of the endangered Northern Right Whales in the
critical habitat located off the coasts of Georgia and Florida, the Navy
has undertaken extensive operational measures to preclude whale injury
resulting from operations along the Eastern Seaboard. The Coast Guard
and the Navy are also providing direct monitoring assistance to the NMFS
and conservation organizations to study the migratory and other
behavioral patterns of the Northern Right Whales to protect that
species.

On the international scale, the serious decline of fisheries in the
Grand Bank of Newfoundland,[^20] the George's Banks off New England, and
other areas have either spawned incidents of violence involving armed
forces or created other clear implications for global security. Legal
regimes are being negotiated to deal with "ownerless" resources and
marine pollution that cannot be specifically linked to particular
vessels or nations, especially land-based sources.[^21] Practical
solutions are needed. The Department of Defense, in cooperation with
other agencies, has begun isolating and containing the effects of
serious pollution incidents.[^22] The Navy is also now a part of a team
working to develop a Black Sea Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan which
would be implemented by naval forces based in the Black Sea.[^23]

**Environmentally Sound Ships**

The Assistant Secretary of the Navy noted the importance of the
environment to the Navy mission stating:

> "By maintaining compliance with all environmental standards, we ensure
> our access to training and operating ranges on land, in the air, and
> at sea. We recognize that many of our actions, whether it is to train
> new Sailors or Marines, maintain readiness of combat forces, or test
> new weapon systems have an impact on the natural environment. We need
> to understand those impacts, and take appropriate actions to minimize
> them. Beyond the strict interpretation of the law, we have an ethical
> responsibility to conserve the natural resources entrusted to
> us."[^24]

This principle has been reinforced by the Chief of Naval Operations who
stated that "national defense and environmental protection are and must
continue to be compatible goals. Therefore, an important part of the
Navy's mission is to prevent pollution, protect the environment, and
protect natural, historic, and cultural resources."[^25] Consistent with
that policy, protection of the marine environment is mission essential.
Navy ships conduct operations, in port and at sea, in such a manner as
to minimize or eliminate any adverse impact on the marine
environment.[^26]

The sea services work hard to be good stewards of the oceans. The Navy
views protection of the environment as a very practical challenge for
operations and logistics. Recognizing the importance of assessing
environmental factors and impacts during operations at sea, the Navy, in
conjunction with the Joint Staff, is developing a Naval Warfare
Publication (NWP 4-11). This document will serve as a ready reference
for operational planners, afloat staffs, and vessel commanders seeking
to integrate complex environmental requirements into day-to-day
operations.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is responsible for
implementing the International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships 1973, as modified by the 1978 Protocol (MARPOL
73/78). MARPOL establishes legal principles, applied to owners and
operators through the national laws of the flag state, which govern the
control of marine pollution as a result of vessel/platform source
emissions into the air and water. Because the roles of military vessels
are unique, MARPOL 73/78 exempts warships, naval auxiliaries, and other
public vessels on noncommercial service from compliance but does require
each party to adopt appropriate measures, not impairing the operations
or operational capabilities of such ships, to comply with the Convention
in so far as reasonable and practicable.[^27] This "exemption" is
frequently misunderstood by the public to mean that navies are not
taking action to prevent pollution. The Navy complies with waste
treatment and disposal standards, generally speaking, that are far more
rigorous than those mandated by IMO regulations. To this end, "the Navy
has established the goal of Environmentally Sound Ships of the 21st
century (ESS-21) that will be able to minimize waste generation and
treat or destroy unavoidable waste on board."[^28]

The Navy has also installed install plastic waste processors on most
surface vessels in order to avoid plastic disposal at sea. Congress also
gave the U.S. Navy until the year 2000 to install pulpers and metal and
glass shredders on surface ships. Other developmental successes include
oil water separators, sewage vacuum collection systems, and elimination
programs for ozone depleting substances, including conversion,
replacement, and recycling initiatives. Naval designers have started to
consider advanced waste treatment systems for future ship designs,
including thermal destruction technologies (such as the plasma arc), to
support ESS-21. Research and development is also proceeding on
development of oily water membrane effluent minimization systems, and
sewage and graywater treatment systems. To prevent the introduction of
non-indigenous species, the Navy has implemented a rigorous ballast
water exchange procedure for ships so equipped. Obviously, the
technological gains which the Navy makes in connection with ESS-21
system development may have civil applications and benefits.

Public and congressional support is key to the ability of naval forces
to maintain the required readiness to achieve national security
objectives and execute the National Military Strategy. Therefore, the
Navy has involved the public, environmental groups, and legislative
representatives in Navy marine environmental protection programs. A
forward looking environmental policy ensures that the sea services
operating overseas can continue to enjoy port access because of their
good reputation abroad for pollution control and waste disposal.

**THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT**

Maritime Forces must comply with laws that directly protect ocean
resources. The Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species
Act (ESA) require such forces to avoid the taking of marine mammals and,
in the case of the ESA, to consult with appropriate resource agencies
regarding operations that may affect the continued existence of
endangered species or may modify their critical habitat.

Potential environmental impacts are fully analyzed through a
comprehensive environmental planning process, complying with the U.S.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for activities within the
United States[^29] and Executive Order 12114 for activities outside of
the United States. The Navy has found that early consideration of
potential environmental impacts can enhance military readiness by
assuring access to critical training areas. Operational doctrine is also
being written to fuse the analysis which is conducted for environmental
compliance purposes with all other military planning conducted in
advance of military exercises or operations.

The Departments of Defense (represented by the Navy) and EPA are
developing Uniform National Discharge Standards[^30] to address the
problem of differing State Water Quality standards as they pertained to
liquid discharges from warships and other public vessels which could
have adverse impacts on the marine environment. The resulting
regulation, developed in consultation with other Federal agencies and
affected states, will enable DoD to operate under one uniform
environmental protection standard throughout the United States.

As stewards of the marine and littoral environments, the Navy has an
obligation to care for the natural resources on which the world depends.
Protecting the environment is a part of mission accomplishmen\--it is
good citizenship and protects continued naval access into foreign
waters. The Navy is committed to protecting human health and the
environment while performing its military mission. These obligations
come with an impact upon the Navy's increasingly scarce economic
resources. In the coming years, there will be continued discussion over
how extensively environmental obligations will shape military activities
at sea in view of the military planning, readiness and budgetary
constraints. The "openness" of environmental law procedures, such as
NEPA, and the military's need to limit dissemination of sensitive
national security information must be harmonized. Restrictions on the
use of weapons systems and the operations of ships and other military
platforms should strike an appropriate balance.

**Freedom of Navigation, Ocean Resources, and the Law of the Sea
Convention**

Access to the oceans throughout the world, including the areas off
foreign coasts at great distances from the United States, is vital to
U.S. security and economic interests in global navigation, overflight,
and telecommunications. These interests are best served by a globally
accepted public order of the oceans that minimizes the challenges to and
costs of securing such access. The LOS Convention restrains the growth
of excessive maritime claims and codifies key legal provisions in the
areas of environment, fisheries, and public vessel sovereign immunity
which balance the vital interests of maritime and coastal states.

Free trade requires freedoms of navigation and overflight. The United
States also takes an interest in protecting rights of transit for
international commercial shipping[^31] and promoting free trade. The LOS
Convention codifies traditional freedoms of navigation and overflight.
These freedoms include the right of innocent passage through foreign
territorial seas, the exercise of high seas freedoms[^32] seaward of
territorial seas, and rights of transit and archipelagic sea lanes
passage through international straits and archipelagic waters. Norms
favoring foreign port access, marine scientific research, and specific
limits of coastal state authority over the submerged lands and resources
adjacent to their shores, are all contained in the LOS Convention.

A few decades ago, there was a explosion of extended sovereignty claims,
as some states acted unilaterally to maximize their offshore
jurisdiction. A great contribution of the LOS Convention is that the
trend in excessive claims has abated with some states having rolled-back
their excessive claims. As more states become parties to the LOS
Convention, which entered into force in November 1994, there should be a
heightened degree of convergence towards the principles it sets forth.
As of January 1998, 123 states are parties to the Convention.[^33]

The position of the Department of Defense on the LOS Convention is
clear:

> "The Department of Defense has long supported the Convention on
> national security grounds. The Nation's security has depended upon our
> ability to conduct military operations over, under, and on the oceans.
> We support the Convention because it confirms traditional high seas
> freedoms of navigation and overflight; it details passage rights
> through international straits; and it reduces prospects for
> disagreements with coastal nations during operations."[^34]

**Other International Legal Initiatives**

While ratification of the LOS Convention is an urgent short term goal of
the Executive Branch of the United States Government in the oceans
arena, other international initiatives affecting the use and quality of
the oceans will require attention early in the coming decade. The
establishment of universally accepted rules for oceans governance will
provide DoD and the Coast Guard with clear guideposts for the types of
design and operational standards which may have to be met in the future.
The rules will also be helpful in addressing global problems of
environmental degradation and resource depletion which can lead to
conflict. Initiatives which are currently under study include:

\(a\) Seeking universal accession of states to the recently concluded
1994 Agreement relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling
Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Species. Universal acceptance of that
agreement is important to help protect fish species and because it
establishes unique multinational enforcement provisions and is a
balanced model for international conservation.

\(b\) Implementing the Global Action Plan on Marine Pollution from
Land-Based Sources. While international efforts to control vessel source
pollution have been largely successful, the more pervasive land-based
sources have been inadequately addressed.

\(c\) Obtaining universal accession to the 1996 Protocol to the London
"Dumping" Convention. That Convention establishes new safeguards and
provides legal clarity on the permissible types of dumping at sea,
including the dumping of high and low-level radioactive wastes.

\(d\) Obtaining universal participation among flag states of Annex VI of
MARPOL. This Annex sets forth new international standards applicable to
air emissions from ships.

\(e\) Working with the IMO and the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) to find acceptable regimes for the safe and secure methods for
transporting nuclear materials at sea. Striking an appropriate balance
between the competing international interests in this area is important
from a nuclear safety and non-proliferation perspective.

**MANAGEMENT ISSUES**

Following a joint hearing in January 1996, Congress established a
National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) to improve knowledge
of the oceans through federal, academic, and industrial partnerships in
research and education. Federal coordination is achieved through a
National Ocean Research Leadership Council, which includes broad
representation from federal agencies with oceans interests and is
currently chaired by the Secretary of the Navy. In 1997, twelve
partnership projects were funded to establish new coastal laboratories,
develop plans for a virtual ocean data center, improve ocean data
collection and processing, and expand public and education outreach
activities. NOPP's challenge, in this time of declining budgets, is to
seek out and foster the most beneficial projects and partnerships that
meet national oceanographic requirements and program goals. In the
coming years, there will be continued study on whether NOPP, and
programs like it in other agencies, are meeting their objectives.

From time to time, legislative proposals are made to renew operating or
differential subsidies for the U.S. merchant fleet engaged in
international trade for the purpose of leveling the economic playing
field for labor and operating cost, since only 3 percent of U.S. foreign
waterborne trade is carried by the U.S. merchant fleet. In the past
legislative session, there were proposals to substantially scale-back
the "Jones Act," which establishes a preference for U.S. owned and
crewed vessels engaged in the coastwise trade. Proposals have also been
made to provide subsidies to U.S. shipyards to equalize the labor cost
differentials with shipyards overseas, where direct or indirect
construction subsidies are routine. U.S. defense spending in U.S.
shipyards and for the charter of U.S. flag vessels is expected to
decline, and this decreased spending may increase pressure on the
Congress and the Executive Branch to address this problem.

The Federal Environmental Task Force (discussed above), which was formed
in the mid-1990s, and successor initiatives, have collectively resulted
in the transfer of formerly classified environmental data to scientists
and others in the civilian sector to help solve global environmental and
resource questions. The Navy has offered some further access to
classified data if a source for the cost of "sanitizing" data can be
found. In the coming years, stakeholders from the government and private
sector will have to determine the appropriate level of investment for
making defense information with civil applications available to the
public.

There is an increasing awareness that marine pollution and decreases in
sustainable yields of marine living resources can be one contributing
factor to political instability in coastal regions around the world. In
the coming years, the United States must assess what the federal
government can or should do to help prevent or mitigate these types of
problems. A strategy may be needed to avoid costly impacts on the United
States in the form of military humanitarian intervention, responses to
mass migration, and unprogrammed foreign aid expenditures. The United
States must also consider the appropriate role of private and
international aid organizations in this overall process.

Finally, striking the correct balance between federal and state
environmental laws designed to protect the marine environment with
military readiness and operations is an ongoing process and continues to
be a challenge.

**EDUCATION AND EXPLORATION**

The nation should continue to fund pure and applied research across the
spectrum of ocean sciences to meet future defense needs. An investment
in defense science will pay dividends to the civilian sector. A more
complete understanding of the ocean environment will enable U.S.
military forces in the future to meet their traditional defense missions
while at the same time minimizing the impacts of those operations on the
marine environment. Science is key to finding ways to sustainably
develop and manage ocean resources to meet the needs of an increasing
world population. Ocean exploration missions are important to meet
defense science needs and advance the nation's overall position in
science and technology. The United States must continue to attract the
best and the brightest to America's shores to study, conduct research,
and advance the technology base.

The nation invests heavily in education and training activities to
support national security programs. A full spectrum of training
facilities is dedicated to training seagoing professionals. These
include the Military Service Academies (Naval and Coast Guard
Academies), the Merchant Marine Academy, and the Naval Reserve Officer
Training Units located at major universities across the country. The
Navy and Coast Guard operate a network of schools to provide apprentice
level technical training in all fields relating to the operations of
ships at sea including: engineering, ships services, nuclear and
conventional propulsion systems, combat systems, navigation and
operations. Finally, the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval War College,
and Naval Medical Research Institute are among the world-class graduate
level teaching and research organizations that are responsible for
educating military leaders in the United States and abroad. This
investment in training is significant, but the payoff is the world's
most highly trained cadre of mariners and marine scientists who serve in
both military and civilian positions.

A continuing challenge will be finding ways to reduce the costs of
training America's seagoing professionals and give other interested
citizens access to some of the training facilities and opportunities
that are available to those in the federal government. The Navy has been
building partnerships with private industry, other government agencies,
and academia to further the public understanding of oceanography. Some
clear examples of success are Project JASON, hosted by the Naval
Meteorology and Oceanography Command and the University of Southern
Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, which brings live
interactive broadcasts from JASON expeditions to students and teachers
in many states. The challenge will be finding more of these
opportunities to connect the marine professionals in government with
motivated members of the public.

**CONCLUSION**

The United States is a maritime nation which owes much of its security
and prosperity to its ability to use the seas successfully to enhance
commerce and national security. Key to this success has been the
preservation of strong maritime forces and sealift. U.S. maritime forces
must be able to fight smarter and win, with smart maneuver, smarter
weapons, and a reliable stream of remote sensor and tactical
environmental data.

Preservation of the comprehensive legal regime set forth in the Law of
the Sea Convention is essential to assure freedom of navigation and
overflight on the high seas and through straits and other choke points
for military and commercial vessels. For over 200 years, the United
States has recognized the importance of keeping open the sea lines of
communication at sea for commercial and military purposes. National and
global security demand that this task continue as a matter of national
priority.

**LIST OF ACRONYMS**

DNC Digital Nautical Charts

ESA Endangered Species Act

ESS-21 Environmentally Sound Ships of the 21st century

GPS Global Positioning System

IMO International Maritime Organization

IS&R Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance

LORAN Long-Range Aid to Navigation

LOS Law of the Sea

MARPOL International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships

MIO Maritime Interdiction Operations

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act

NIMA National Imagery and Mapping Agency

NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOPP National Oceanographic Partnership Program

ONR Office of Naval Research

SOSUS underwater surveillance system

[^1]: Whereas other Year of the Ocean discussion papers have used the
    singular form *ocean*, this paper uses the plural form as a means of
    acknowledging the importance of specific locations within a military
    context.

[^2]: Includes uniformed members of National Oceanographic and
    Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Seagoing Commissioned Officers
    Corps.

[^3]: Includes the men and women who command and crew ships which are
    either owned by or under charter to the Military Sealift Command,
    the U.S. Maritime Administration, and the U.S. Army Corps of
    Engineers.

[^4]: Department of the Navy, *Forward from the Sea*, p.1. (1997).

[^5]: Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Military Strategy of the United
    States of America, p.2 (1995).

[^6]: Headed by the Oceanographer of the Navy on the Chief of Naval
    Operations Staff and supported by 3,000 plus civilians and military
    personnel worldwide.

[^7]: U.S. Coast Guard, *National Security and the Coast Guard*,
    (COMDTPUB CP 16011.1), P. 8 (1995)

[^8]: 33 U.S.Code, Section 1401.

[^9]: 33 U.S.Code Sections 1215-1387.

[^10]: 33 U.S.Code, Chapter 39

[^11]: See generally, U.S. Naval Academy Press, *Oceanography into the
    Next Decade*, (1992)

[^12]: *Research Facilities*: ONR assists in the management of the
    federal and academic fleet of oceanographic research ships, remotely
    operated vehicle (ROV) technologies (manipulative capabilities), and
    other oceanographic platforms that support the Department of the
    Navy and national science and technology projects. The Navy is
    exploring the use of other specialized platforms (e.g., ALVIN, ROVs,
    AUVs, etc.) to increase science and technology capabilities. The
    Coast Guard provides support to ocean research by operating and
    maintaining the U.S.' only polar icebreakers. Currently, there are
    two of these valuable assets in commission with a third under
    construction. These platforms are tasked with the re-supply of U.S.
    research facilities in the Arctic and Antarctic regions as well as
    providing research facilities onboard for use by embarked
    scientists.

[^13]: Ibid.

[^14]: SOSUS is comprised of a series of acoustic listening arrays on
    the seafloor which was developed during the Cold War to detect the
    Soviet submarine fleet.

[^15]: 46 U.S. Code Appendix Section 289.

[^16]: 46 U.S. Code Appendix Section 883.

[^17]: U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration
    *Report on Survey of U.S. Shipbuilding and Repair Facilities* pgs.
    40, 54 (1996)

[^18]: Includes the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of
    Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (Basel
    Convention); The 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine
    Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention
    1972), as recently amended; The Safety of Life at Sea Convention
    1974, as amended (SOLAS Convention); The 1973 Convention and 1978
    Protocol for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL); and
    the 1972 Convention on Prevention of Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).

[^19]: Large scale (greater than 2.5 kms in length) high sea driftnets
    are banned by a 1991 UN General Assembly Resolutions 44.225, 45.197,
    and 46.215 because of the devastating impact of large-scale driftnet
    fishing on both the targeted fish stocks and because of the problem
    in incidental damage to marine mammals and non-target fish species.
    Abandoned driftnets are also a serious hazard to navigation.

[^20]: The collapse of the cod stocks are indicative of the collapse of
    once numerous species including herring, halibut, and blue-fin tuna.
    Indiscriminate fishing techniques (e.g., use of large nets and
    trawls which scrape the sea floor, use of drift nets, and precision
    navigation devices) consume entire populations in single scoops. In
    1996, the World Conservation Union's annual Red Data Book of
    threatened species listed for the first time numerous marine
    fish---more than 100 kinds worldwide including cod, haddock, blue
    fin tuna, swordfish, Nassau grouper, and summer flounder.

[^21]: International norms are just evolving to attack the transboundary
    impacts of pollution from land-based sources. Since over 90 percent
    of ocean pollution is derived from land-based sources, this problem
    is especially acute.

[^22]: Literally thousands of mostly small, spills occur every year
    around the world. Incidents like the 250,000 barrel spill of Exxon
    Valdez in Prince William Sound in 1989 and the release of 12 million
    barrels of oil in the Persian Gulf as "ecocide" by Iraq during the
    Gulf War are two of the most prominent examples. The Navy and the
    Coast Guard have developed a worldwide oil spill contingency plan
    and response capability in cooperation with other nations.
    State-of-the-art oil spill recovery equipment is pre-positioned in
    strategic locations and maintained in a constant state of readiness.
    If needed, the recovery equipment can be shipped by military
    aircraft to remote locations.

[^23]: The plan will be exercised by elements of the U.S. Sixth Fleet
    during the summer of 1998.

[^24]: Pirie, R.B. Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Installations
    and Environment). Statement before the Subcommittee on Readiness of
    the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Fiscal Year 98 Department
    of the Navy Environmental Budget. 15 April 1997.

[^25]: Dept. of the Navy, *Environmental and Natural Resources Manual*
    (OPNAVINST 5090.1B) (1994).

[^26]: Ibid.

[^27]: Article 3, International Convention for the Prevention of
    Pollution of Ships, 1973.

[^28]: Dept. of the Navy, *Report to Congress, U.S. Navy Ship Solid
    Waste Management Plan for MARPOL Annex V Special Areas*, Nov. 1,
    1996. The Navy's 21st Century Surface Combatant (SC-21) will satisfy
    applicable environmental regulations related to waste management
    while at the same time functioning as a highly capable warship. A
    NATO Naval Armaments Group (SWF/12) is examining on a similar
    concept in a NATO context.

[^29]: Including the 3 nautical mile limit of the territorial sea
    subject to state jurisdiction.

[^30]: This initiative was authorized by Section 525 of the 1996
    National Defense Authorization Act.

[^31]: During the so-called "War of the Tankers" between Iran and Iraq
    during 1980 through 1988, neutral merchant shipping sustained
    tremendous losses. In the 8-year conflict, 543 ships were attacked,
    most in international waters. Over 200 lives were lost, including 53
    Americans. In an effort to contain the effects of that conflict, the
    United States authorized the reflagging of Kuwaiti tankers and in
    1987, commenced with providing those and other vessels military
    escort as they conducted their transits through the Straits of
    Hormuz and the Gulf.

[^32]: The high seas freedoms of importance to DoD include the transit
    of ocean spaces, task force maneuvering, exercises, flight
    operations, surveillance and intelligence collection,
    communications, and space activities, cable laying, military
    surveys, and ordnance testing and firing.

[^33]: The United States is still not a party to the LOS Convention.
    However, the Convention was forwarded to the Senate for advice and
    consent in the Fall of 1994 and is currently awaiting action by the
    Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Furthermore, since 1983, the
    United States has regarded most of the LOS Convention to represent a
    codification of customary international law.

[^34]: Department of Defense, *National Security and the Law of the Sea
    Convention* p.1 (1996)(Quoting from Secretary of Defense William
    Perry Statement on July 29, 1994).