Ports are at risk for maritime terrorism

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.iags.org/n0124051.htm
According to the Lloyds List, the U.S. and Norwegian intelligence agencies have identified some 15 to 23 freighters, flying the flags of Yemen, Somalia, and the Pacific island of Tonga, believed to sail in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Indian and Pacific oceans, as owned or controlled by the Al Qaeda network.14 These ships could carry weapons of mass destruction and also could be used to help Usama Bin Laden and his followers escape from pursuit.
http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=391&issue_id=2872&article_id=23400
The United States remains the epicenter of international maritime trade, with more than six million containers--forty percent of the world's maritime cargo--entering the United States annually. Five days after the 2001 terrorist attacks, Boston harbor was closed as a prophylactic measure because authorities feared that terrorists might strike again. Shipping companies have scrambled since 9-11 to cooperate with Washington, with more than 1,700 involved in maritime trade voluntarily adhering to the U.S. Customs "trusted shipper program," certifying that their security procedures are compatible with U.S. regulations. Unfortunately, Washington has yet to follow up on these commitments. A recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report noted that only half of the companies had submitted security profiles. Specific cargo manifests are now submitted at ports of origin and transmitted electronically to U.S. Customs offices in the United States twenty-four hours before a ship is loaded. U.S. Customs agents at twenty-four foreign ports now have the authority to issue a "Do Not Load Order" on suspicious cargoes.

http://www.defense-update.com/2005/12/threat-of-maritime-terrorism.html
There is indeed compelling evidence that ships are al-Qaeda's new weapons of choice. When Abd al Rahman al Nashiri was captured by US intelligence agents in November 2002, the scope of Al-Qaeda maritime activities was revealed for the first time in detail.
http://www.argee.net/DefenseWatch/Confronting%20Maritime%20Terrorism.htm
We still have a major gap in our homeland protection, however. Our great shipping ports still bring in huge amounts of goods and materials, some in bulk like oil and minerals, but much of it in 20-foot containers called TEUs (for twenty-foot equivalent) units. The west coast ports of Los Angeles , Oakland , Portland and Seattle currently bring in more than 10 million TEUs every year, a number that will double within the decade. Only a small fraction of these are inspected. In a previous article, (“A Solution for the Shipping Container Threat,” DefenseWatch, Feb. 12, 2003 ), I discussed the details of the kind of threat these shipping containers pose, and suggest how we can deal with this threat. The United States is addressing this inspection problem, but we are also examining the larger picture. The U.S. Pacific Command has launched the Regional Maritime Security Initiative. As reported by The Washington Times, according to Adm. Thomas Fargo, who heads the Pacific Command from its headquarters in Hawaii , the Initiative’s goal is to forge a partnership of nations willing to identify and intercept “transnational maritime threats under existing international and domestic laws.”



There are some 90,000 ships plying the oceans of this planet. The vast majority of these vessels sail under flags of convenience, registered in Tonga , Panama , Liberia , Cyprus or the Bahamas , which means that they are not subject to control by any international authority. They check out of the local maritime traffic control system upon leaving port, and eventually show up somewhere else, often without advance notice, and with essentially no information on where they have been in the interim. As Adm. Fargo told Congress in March, “We need to gain an awareness of the maritime domain to match the picture we have of our international airspace.”

http://www.military.com/forums/0,15240,83909,00.html

The al Qaeda network maintains strong interest in attacking commercial maritime targets. In October 2002, al Qaeda planner Adb al Rahim Al Nashiri oversaw the attack on the French oil tanker Limburg off Yemen, a strike Osama Bin Laden intended as part of a campaign against U.S. interests in the region. (3) In August 2004, the British Royal Navy First Sea Lord Admiral Alan West warned of al Qaeda planning against international shipping. (4) Bush administration officials and various government agencies have frequently cited al Qaeda's intent to continue attacks on American targets, specifically mentioning maritime attacks using boats and scuba divers as explosive delivery vehicles. (5)

http://www.jinsa.org/articles/articles.html/function/view/categoryid/1701/documentid/2567/history/3,2360,655,1701,2567

[w8liftinglady]

1. more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A56442-2002Dec30?language=printer
As they scramble to keep tabs on the largely unregulated and secretive global maritime industry, U.S. officials have no end of worries about how nautical terrorists could attack U.S. or allied ports or vessels, officials said.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/31/1067566087384.html
Authorities feared al-Qaeda operatives might try to enter the country, where 37,000 US troops are stationed. South Korea, a chief US ally in the region, is debating whether to send combat troops to support American forces in Iraq.

http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/rsepResources/si/oct03/terrorism.asp
Shipping Ports

More than 6 million cargo containers arrive in the United States from overseas each year. Robert Bonner, commissioner of customs and border protection at the Department of Homeland Security notes that there is a continuing concern that al-Qaeda and other terrorists groups might try to place weapons of mass destruction in some of those containers.<14>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A56442-2002Dec30¬Found=true
U.S. intelligence officials have identified approximately 15 cargo freighters around the world that they believe are controlled by al Qaeda or could be used by the terrorist network to ferry operatives, bombs, money or commodities over the high seas, government officials said.

[w8liftinglady]

2. more

http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/nov03/homeland.asp
Another lesson learned after 9/11 is that many components of our critical infrastructure are vulnerable to attack and in desperate need of improvement. Our ports, power supplies, hospitals, and nuclear plants are all vulnerable to some extent to terrorist attack
-snip
http://www.cdi.org/friendlyversion/printversion.cfm?documentID=1644
The giants in the 'flags of convenience' business are Panama and Liberia, with some 4,680 and 1,432 ships respectively reported on their registers. However, some 24 other states are also so named by the International Transport Workers' Federation which scrutinizes such activities.
http://cfrterrorism.org/security/ports.html
What’s the volume of traffic at U.S. ports?
Some 7,500 ships with foreign flags make 51,000 calls on U.S. ports each year. They carry the bulk of the approximately 890 million tons of goods that come into the country, including 7.8 million containers, 175 billion gallons of oil and other fuels, and hundreds of thousands of cruise-ship passengers and crew members. The volume of traffic gives terrorists opportunities to smuggle themselves or their weapons into the United States with little risk of detection; in May 2002, there were reports about 25 Islamist extremists who may have entered the United States by hiding in shipping containers.

[Swamp Rat]

3. Thanks for posting this

:thumbsup: :hug:

kick and recommended

:kick: