Petty Officer 2nd Class David Tourmo, a maritime enforcement specialist at Coast Guard Sector Detroit, participates in a Shiprider demonstration conducted on the Detroit River, April 30, 2015.
The Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police patrol together to enforce maritime laws, but also to honor each nation's sovereignty.
U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Levi Read
EDITOR'S NOTE: In the demonstration, the Shiprider Patrol started on a Royal Canadian Mounted Police boat with three Canadian police officers and a Coast Guard petty officer patrolling in American waters. Upon boarding an American vessel, the Coast Guard petty officer became the lead law enforcement officer with support coming from the RCMP officers.
CLEVELAND — The governor general of Canada, the Right Honourable David Johnston, and Rear Adm. Fred Midgette, Coast Guard 9th District commander, met with U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Mounted Police officials regarding the integrated cross-border maritime law enforcement operations program known as Shiprider Thursday morning at Coast Guard Sector Detroit.
Canada-U.S. Shiprider represents a cooperative approach to combating cross-border crime on Canada and U.S. shared waterways.
"We share many things with our friends in Canada, and one of the most important is our reliance on these Great Lakes for safety and security," said Midgette. "Few initiatives illustrate this more clearly than the Integrated Cross-border Maritime Law Enforcement Operations – or Shiprider."
Shiprider is a program that enables specially-trained officials from both nations to pursue or interdict suspected criminals transiting across the shared maritime border. It removes the maritime border as an impediment to law enforcement operations. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are the primary Shiprider participants.
"Shiprider is yet another wonderful example of Canadians and Americans working together," said Johnston. "We're fortunate to share a border that's secure yet allows people to cross freely - more than 400,000 people a day, in fact."
Regularized Shiprider operations respect the sovereignty of both the U.S. and Canada and are based on the principles of shared border management, effective law enforcement, appropriate and measured information sharing, and robust privacy protection. Shiprider operations are intended to enhance both Canadian and U.S. security in shared waterways.
In 2014 there were 77 Great Lakes Shiprider patrols with 422 underway hours. Coast Guard and RCMP officers conducted 121 vessel boardings. They also worked together for one significant seizure of 1,521 pounds of water-pipe tobacco, leading to a larger bust of illegal tobacco importers to Canada.
The illegal contraband was water pipe tobacco with a retail value of approximately $485,000, including nearly $205,000 in evaded duties and taxes.
The pilot program for Shiprider was first conducted in the Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, area in September 2005.