Captain Frank Whipple

Captain Whipple has five years commercial experience in marine safety and port security and 28-years of experience with the U.S. Coast Guard. He was formerly head of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Region headquarters, Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Response Division and had extensive experience in maritime safety, security, marine incidents and emergency response. 

He has previously served as Senior Vice President for several companies providing safety, security and environmental protection services domestically and internationally.  During this period, he assisted the companies in preparing the United States and other countries in meeting the ISPS Security Code. 

Captain Whipple commanded the Coast Guards then elite, Port Security Unit 302 that deployed to protect high value targets in high threat areas.  I was also the senior Port Security Officer for all ports in the Pacific.  He was selected to create a new USCG Oil and Chemical Response Strike Team after the Exxon Valdez incident.  The Coast Guard Strike Teams are fully capable of responding to any chemical incident, anywhere in the world on a moments notice.  He selected the team members, ensured proper training and qualifications, and oversaw the purchase of twenty million dollars in equipment and supplies.  During this tour, Captain Whipple was chosen as team leader for special crisis operations in Saudi Arabia (Gulf Wars), Mozambique (Civil War), Chile and Canada. As a senior U.S. adviser to foreign governments in the proper management of disasters, he is fully knowledgeable in international protocols. He have been fully trained in the Incident Command System and qualified to respond to chemical spills at all levels, from initial responder to Hazmat Response Supervisor and Incident Commander

He served for 28 years as a regulatory compliance specialist with the US Coast Guard.  During this period, he was actively involved in assisting companies in complying with regulatory measures implemented for safety, security and environmental protection.  

After the World Trade Center bombing, he served as the deputy project manager and was assigned Team Leader for the US Coast Guard, Port Security Assessment project for Hudson Marine.  Captain Whipple spent months assessing the port security of Yemen, and was sent by the International Maritime Organization to Indonesia to advise their government on necessary actions to meet the new IMO Security Code.  He has designed and prepared threat assessments, security assessments and security plans for literally hundreds of facilities and vessels over the past year. 

Captain Whipple was a lead investigator on the Sansinena when it exploded in Los Angeles harbor; a damage expert on the Puerto Rican off San Francisco; the Alternate COTP for the Mega Borg explosion in Galveston, TX; the On-Scene Commander for the Santa Clara chemical spill offshore New Jersey; Navy liaison when the Exxon Houston grounded near Waikiki and dispatched Navy salvage tugs; and COTP during the Apex barge collision in the Houston Ship Channel when the channel was closed for a week.

During his Coast Guard career, Captain Whipple spent a year working for Crowley Marine Corporation and Delta Steamship Company, where his knowledge in port operations and shipping was greatly increased.  He worked within both the Marine Operations Department and in the Land and Traffic Department moving containers and ships around South America and Africa and overseeing thousands of container movements on company owned terminals.  Captain Whipple also spent six months assessing the operations of a major west coast transportation company having hundreds of vessels and facilities along the west coast.

The nation’s oil and chemical response system is comprised of 16 federal and numerous state agencies.  He has served on six different Regional Response Teams (I, II, III, IV, IX and Oceana).  Each Team represents State and Federal agency representatives.  During this time, he co-authored the National Guidelines for Mechanical Protection Measures and was lead advisor on the Shoreline Protection Manual.  Both of these documents are nationally accepted response practices.    He served as the Regional Co-chair for the Regional Response Team IX.

Russ Beauchamp

Mr. Beauchamp has 4-years experience with the U.S. Coast Guard.  His major responsibilities included inspecting regulated waterfront facilities, containers transporting hazardous materials, and environmental pollution response.  Mr. Beauchamp was instrumental during the implementation of the MTSA regulations after September 11, 2001, ensuring that all facilities in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach complied with the new regulations.  He coordinated inspections with the facilities and advised them of potential vulnerabilities and threats.  He also reviewed Facility Security Plan for final approval at the unit level.  Mr. Beauchamp has coordinated and oversaw 3 Multi Agency Strike Force Operations (MASFOs) with organizations such as the California Highway Patrol, Long Beach Police Department, and US Customs.   Such MASFOs target containers with unsafe transportation violations taking them out of service.  He also conducted over 100 pollution investigations and oversaw 6 Federalized pollution clean-ups.  He has participated and observed numerous drills and exercises for pollution and security, including the Spill of National Significance exercise (SONS) in 2004.  Mr. Beauchamp is initial responder qualified and a qualified Hazwopper instructor.  

Ms. Mary E. Whipple

Mary is crucial to the success of Amergent Techs. She manages the administration and office operations for the company. She has years of experience supporting lawyers and numerous companies preparing legal briefs, court preparation documents, claims processing,   performing accounting and book keeping, and other support functions such as human resources, and office administration. Mary's attention to detail and commitment to our quality standards ensures our customers receive the best possible services.