Coast Guard begins Albany session of Safety Assessment Workshop

by Coast Guard PA Detachment New York on 15 Nov 2017 The Coast Guard kicked off the first day of a two-day Hudson River Ports and Waterways Safety Assessment (PAWSA) Workshop at the Holiday Inn Express-Downtown in Albany, NY today. Approximately 40 participants and 20 observers took part in discussions about the Hudson River identifying various waterway risks.

“We are here to look comprehensively at risks on the Hudson River through the structured and collaborative PAWSA approach,” said Rear Admiral Steven Poulin, commander, First Coast Guard District during his opening remarks to the participants. “You are the experts in your fields and you will identify risks on the Hudson River and help inform us on the right way forward to mitigate them.”

A sampling of Workshop participants includes representatives from Albany Yacht Club, Ulster County Sherriff, New York State Department of Environment Conservation, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, NY/NJ Maritime Association, Hudson River Waterfront Alliance, and Port of Albany. Observers include local municipal leaders and residents to maintain transparency of the process.

The two-day Workshop is broken up into day one - identifying risks, and day two - risk mitigation factors. In order to identify risks, participants will form into teams to discuss and evaluate major waterway safety hazards, estimate risk levels, calculate potential mitigation measures, and set the stage for implementation of selected measures to reduce risk.

Last week, the first session was held in Poughkeepsie. The results from both workshops will be combined into one Hudson River Ports And Waterways Safety Assessment report.