66 Proceedings Spring 2025 needs. The federal on-scene coordinator at the Unified Area Command formed the Alternative Response Technologies (ART). The ART collected approximately 400,000 submitted technical ideas, suggestions, and proposals. Approximately 100 suggestions were formally evaluated and/or field tested and approximately 25 of those saw significant use during response operations, including the Ocean Therapy oil/water separa- tor, a heavy oil skimming system, and a fast water oil boom deploy- ment system. The Deepwater Horizon incident saw the first-ever designation of a national incident commander (NIC). The National Contingency Plan specified the role to com- municate with affected parties and the public and to coordinate federal, state, local, and interna- tional resources at the national level. One element of this staff was the Interagency Solutions Group (IASG), which met the president’s mandate for the NIC to oversee the entire incident, including coordination of federal agen- cies participating in the response. As issues arose, the IASG established interagency subgroups to address them, including the IATAP to col- lect and analyze thousands of response recommenda- tions from all sources. The formation of the IATAP was necessary to address the ART, which was overwhelmed with a large number of ideas from the public, indus- tries, and universities. The process created in the IATAP addressed the feedback mechanism to innovators from a perceived nonbiased identity and improved public affairs communications. The NIC formed the assessment group within the solutions group at the RDC in May 2010 to ensure a fair and systematic government-managed process to solicit, screen, and evaluate technologies suggested in support of Deepwater Horizon spill response activities by the public, government agencies, and academia. The RDC quickly stood up and supported the IATAP by estab- lishing an incident command structure including sec- tions for operations, planning, contracting, and logistics. The IATAP consisted of representatives and assessment teams from several federal agencies. Hurricane Isaac In anticipation of Hurricane Isaac making landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi in 2012, the RDC provided several portable AIS Go-Kits to the Coast Guard Office of Navigation, which had the ability to transmit virtual channel lines and aids to navigation while Coast Guard assets reconstituted the channels. One of the Go-Kits was deployed to a buoy tender, which allowed maximum coverage of the trans- missions to ships in the area. Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse On March 26, 2024, the main spans and three approach spans of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River in Maryland after the Panama- flagged container ship M/V Dali struck one of its piers. In response, the RDC quickly readied to sup- port the unified command and provide a portable Vessel Traffic System consisting of fused data, including AIS, radar, and an auto- mated camera tracking system. This provided the ability to moni- tor the port and safely move large cargo vessels ensuring the flow of commerce in and out of the port. The RDC further sup- ported the board of inquiry for the Key Bridge collapse with risk analysis expertise. Conclusion The RDC has made significant contributions to maritime safety and environmental protection over the past 50 years. From early innovations in oil spill response fol- lowing the Argo Merchant incident to cutting-edge tech- nologies developed in response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the RDC’s commitment to agility and techno- logical advancement has been unwavering. The RDC’s ability to quickly adapt and respond to new challenges—whether environmental, security- related, or disaster-driven—underscores its vital role in safeguarding our nation’s coasts and waterways. As we look to the future, the RDC’s ongoing dedication to research and development will continue to play a crucial role in addressing emerging threats and ensuring the safety and security of our maritime regions. About the authors: Retired Coast Guard CDRs Scott Fields and Sean Lester are both branch chiefs at the Coast Guard Research and Development Center. Fields leads the rapid reaction technology branch and Lester leads the aviation branch. The AIS Go-Kits allowed for real-world tracking of Coast Guard assets in a simple, inexpensive manner using off-the-shelf technology.
