Scripps Howard – Thomas P.M. Barnett writes that one of the main problems in counterterrorism today is that there are so many people and vehicles, and so much data and material, moving through globalization’s myriad networks that it seems virtually impossible to track it all effectively. Nowhere has this problem been more acute than on the high seas.
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Government Computer News – Ensuring the security of what goes in and out of the nation’s ports is a massive undertaking that has been hindered by small-agency budgets, technological limitations and jurisdictional questions.
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Sea Power – 121,000 merchant vessels worldwide. Nine million cargo containers entering U.S. ports annually. U.S. Navy and government officials fear seagoing cargo vessels will make a perfect platform for another terrorist attack against the United States. As a preventative measure, they want to identify and track all merchant ships with the precision characteristic of the Navyís monitoring of Soviet submarines during the Cold War.

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RAND – The purpose of this document is to raise awareness concerning the current status of maritime security and its vulnerability to terrorism. The main obstacles in achieving a less vulnerable maritime system are identified. Beginning with issues regarding threats to maritime andómore specificallyóto container commerce, the report discusses the issues and possible solutions that these issues raise. The report concludes with a number of recommendations and references.

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Booz Allen – A write up of a strategic simulation of a terror attack designed to assess the vulnerability of Americaís cargo transportation system and supply chains found that such an attack could cripple global trade and have a devastating impact on the nationís economy. The participants, including leaders from business and government, focused on ways to improve detection before a weapon gets to a U.S. port, as well as strategies to help businesses build resiliency into their operations. (PDF format)

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