Dean DeCoste

As a candidate for the opening position of Harbormaster I have years of related work experience in coastal waterways management and operations. I have served 15 years in the United States Coast Guard. While serving active duty in Newburyport, MA I was trained in seamanship, deck maintenance, marlin spike seamanship, CPR and first aid, search and rescue, and law enforcement. While serving as a boarding team member I enforced all federal laws and regulations as well as state and local municipal regulations. Between my maritime enforcement education through Coast Guard schools and training I have become very close with state and city enforcement agencies such as MA state police, environmental police, city police, and local harbormasters. Working together with different agencies has given me a large understanding of laws and regulations. From reading codes and articles to putting them together on the water and being able to understand and identify violations when they are present. Also experienced in the process in which violations are carried out and how to input information into databases for computer based logs. Kept logs and data bases for local marinas, commercial fishing vessels, and all public facilities. Such data bases and log books containing contact information for all local facilities, commercial vessels, salvage companies, and marinas is a key point in waterways management and has been a huge part of networking in the helping and assistance to many successful search and rescue and law enforcement missions I have been part of.

• Vessel operations
• Navigation
• Maintaining Charts and Publications
• Maintaining Unit Logs
• Prepare Harbor and Open Water Charts
• Living Marine Resource Enforcement
• Search and Rescue Operations
• Vessel Towing
• Marine maintenance
• Preventative maintenance
• Policy design
• Understanding of codes and laws
• Computer knowledge
• Hazardous Material Response and Safety
• CPR and First Aid certified
• EMT Basic

   Through Coast Guard training have a strong knowledge of marine security and safety equipment operations and maintenance requirements. Through preventative maintenance schedules it is important that all safety equipment, vessels, and each vessel's equipment is on a maintenance schedule to assure it is always in proper working order. Preventative maintenance schedules help to not only insure proper servicing equipment, but also extend the life of the equipment in the end saving money on yearly budgets. Strong understanding of docks and moorings from general construction to annual inspections and maintenance. Built numerous gangways and float docks while serving with the U.S Coast Guard. Certified in living marine resource enforcement for the northeast region for all fishes and living marine mammals enforced in the Northeastern Region of the United States. Educated and experienced in maritime law enforcement from federal, state, and municipal laws while serving in the U.S Coast Guard. Experience in hazardous material response. Trained through the Coast Guard and FEMA in disaster, and hazardous material response. I was also assigned in overseeing vessel documentation procedures and ensuring each vessel used in my area of responsibility was free of contamination during the response to the 2011 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Also while deployed to Deepwater Horizon the summer of 2010 I was assigned as communications officer aboard the Coast Guard command ship. While aboard the command ship my duties were using charts, radar and vessel monitoring system tracking to direct skimming operations for a dozen oil skimming platforms as well as aircraft on patrol. With these duties I ensured all vessels executed their tactical assignments and became the key communication link from the fleet to the Incident Command Post. I was later awarded with the United States Coast Guard Achievement Medal for performing these duties.