CAMM Views 06-07: Inordinate Background Checks for Merchant Mariner License Renewals

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06-07

Merchant Mariner License Renewals
Inordinate Background Checks

Opposed

The Dept of Homeland Security has initiated a campaign which has impacted the livelihood, personal liberties and professional reputations of merchant marine officers seeking renewal of their USCG issued Merchant Marine License.

The situation is now thus:

Veteran mariners applying for renewal of their documents are being made to suffer lengthy appeals processes, the expense of retaining legal counsel, a loss of income, suspensions and revocations of their documents based on answers provided by the mariner in a renewal application pertaining to the criminal history of the applicant.

This means that a mariner must expose every incident:

perhaps minor, perhaps major
intentionally or mistakenly omitted
whether thought expunged or not
whether given immunity to prosecution or not
whether occurring 10, 15, 25, or 45+ years ago

Aside from legal questions now being raised for a similar (but less scrupulous) policy being phased in for FAA licensed pilots, one must ask that from a safety/competency/security perspective if the result of this policy is serving the USCGs desired outcome? Do the lengthy investigations and punitive punishments now being required for disposition by local Marine Safety Offices shift an unnecessary burden to already strained enforcement sections?

Master mariners are partners with the USCG in the ISPS scheme and fellow protectors in the nations maritime security umbrella. In the final analysis, based on such a benign security Risk Class as veteran licensed mariners, simply because post 9/11 legislation may permit such invasive conduct by the Government, is this truly necessary? Do the ends substantiate the means?

CAMM advocates a review by the USCG into these policies and suggests that some effort to a limit in criminal history checks be arrived at through this process. All security is based on threat levels. It is time to reevaluate the threat level posed by closely monitored, documented, regulated, licensed and sworn officers of the United States Merchant Marine.

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