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CAPT Kevin Kiefer (USCG, ret.)

Chief, USCG Office of Waterways and Ocean Policy

Captain Kevin Kiefer is the Chief for the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Waterways and Ocean Policy at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. He is responsible for Ocean and Transportation Policy, Waterways Management, Great Lakes Pilotage, Domestic Icebreaking, and International Ice Patrol. He develops national policy for Captain of the Port (COTP) authorities, Marine Transportation System (MTS) objectives, and other issues such as harmonizing waterways usage with autonomous vessels, marine events, and waterborne space launch and reentry operations. He also serves as the Designated Federal Officer for the Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee and is the Coast Guard representative/liaison to the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System, National Academies Marine Board, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.


Previously, Captain Kiefer was the Director of Manufacturing for the Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (MAPC), a research, engineering, and manufacturing company in Baltimore, Maryland that conceives and builds land, air, and sea vehicles and advanced technology systems. Some of his projects included the production of missile onload instruments and grout injection machines for missile tubes on US Navy submarines. He also worked on autonomous vessel design and implementation for various military and commercial applications.


Prior to his time with MAPC, he served 30 years with the Coast Guard which included assignments as Deputy Director of Marine Transportation Systems at Coast Guard Headquarters; Chief of Staff, First District in Boston, Massachusetts; and Captain of the Port, Sector Maryland-National Capital Region in Baltimore, Maryland. He holds a Master of Engineering in Manufacturing and a Master of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

CAPT Kevin Kiefer (USCG, ret.)
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