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M M Rahman
Joined: Apr 27, 2004
Posts: 50 (view all)
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Gender & Age: Male & 35
Country: Bangladesh
City: Dhaka
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Ports of vulnerability
May 26, 2004 - 07:26 AM
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nternational security experts have long warned that the world's container seaports are particularly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. That's why it is shocking to discover that fewer than 6 per cent of all ports and the ships that use them have so far complied with new international regulations designed to reduce the danger of terrorism.
That news was delivered by Efthimios Mitropoulos, head of the United Nations' International Maritime Organization, while he was in Singapore to observe a simulated terrorist attack on a cargo vessel. Singapore and other major ports in Asia, Western Europe and North America either meet the standards of the stringent International Ship and Port Security Code or will do so by July 1, when the code becomes international law. But many others have not yet conformed, including crucial oil terminals in the Middle East and Africa and ports in such major shipping countries as China and Brazil.
The code was adopted by the UN maritime watchdog after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It requires ports and vessels to draw up detailed security plans and contingency procedures, including specialized training, screening of all staff and visitors, restrictions on access and regular anti-terrorist drills, among other measures.
Mr. Mitropoulos said only 301 of about 5,500 ports have qualified so far, and fewer than 2,000 security plans have been approved of the nearly 12,300 submitted by operators of commercial ships. Any vessels without a security certificate showing their compliance with the new rules could be denied access to ports. Those that do carry certificates may also be barred if they have made an earlier stop at an uncertified port. The result could be a serious disruption of world shipping
In The Outlaw Sea: A World of Freedom, Chaos, and Crime, U.S. author William Langewiesche notes that Osama bin Laden "is said to own or control up to 20 aging freighters," all similar to thousands of others plying the open seas and flying flags of convenience. Any of them could easily be loaded with deadly cargo that would stand a good chance of getting through inspections, even in ports that met the tougher new global security rules. It was an al-Qaeda vessel that delivered the bomb materials used in the 1998 attacks on two U.S. embassies in East Africa.
Mr. Mitropoulos cited the recently foiled assault on the Basra oil terminal in southern Iraq as an indication of the terrorists' determination to strike at vulnerable and economically important targets. It's a sobering reminder that the risks of further terrorist attacks remain and that those ships and ports that have not yet installed full-scale security measures put us all in greater peril.
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