The United States Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit of Lake Charles will be out on the Calcasieu Ship Channel Tuesday  for a security exercise mandated by the federal government.

From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Coast Guard ships and several of the area’s industries will participate in the Area Maritime Security Training Exercise along the ship channel. Coast Guard officials want residents to know that this is a controlled exercise. There is no reason for concern.

“I can only tell you it’s a security-related scenario,” said Robyn Kapperman, port security specialist for the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit of Lake Charles. “There will be response efforts to a scenario that will both be land side and waterside.”

Kapperman would not divulge the nature of Tuesday’s scenario, stating that the master event list is only released to controllers and evaluators prior to the exercise.

She also declined to comment on which area industries would be participating, adding that several have requested that they not be identified.

Kapperman said the scenario examines the parts of the Area Maritime Security Plan that need to be looked at and validated. She added that the exercise will ensure that “certain things are reported in a timely manner to the correct agencies” and that the correct officials respond.

“We want to make sure that the plans we have in place are validated on a yearly basis,” Kapperman said. “This exercise is mandated to happen every 12 months. You’re not supposed to let 18 months lapse in between exercises. But you do have a little bit of a window.”

The United States Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit of Lake Charles will be out on the Calcasieu Ship Channel Tuesday morning for a security exercise mandated by the federal government. (mgnonline.com)