b'FOGHORN FOCUSSECURITYll facilities and vessels regulated by the A MaritimeTransportationtoSecurity Act(MTSA)arerequiredcreatea ASSESSMENTS: security plan that is submitted to and approved by the U.S. Coast Guard.Security measures outlinedinanapprovedsecurityplanmust Protecting Your Facility be implemented at all times in order to deter attacks of terrorism or acts of those wishing to do harm to a facility or vessel, and personnel from Acts of Harm operating in the vicinity.[Editors Note: PVA members using the PVA ASP do not have to submit their security plan to the Coast Guard.]BY BETTY MCMENEMY // UNITED STATES COAST GUARD Security plans or programs are the heart of MTSA regulations and must contain mitigating security measures as directed by the regulation. Thesesecuritystandardscannotbeeffective unless they are based on a clear understanding of actual threats affecting the facility or vessel and vulnerabilities that could be exploited to launch a successful attack. An excellent guide to follow when defining vulnerabilities affecting yourfacilityorvesselistheFacilitySecurity Assessment(FSA)and/ortheVesselSecurity Assessment (VSA) in the MTSA regulations. TheMTSAlistsrequirementsandprovides guidance on performing an FSA or VSA. For facilities see 33 CFR 105.300 et seq.; for vessels see 33 CFR 104.300 et seq. This article focuses FOGHORN FOCUS: SECURITY8 FOGHORN'