May 22, 2002	atimes.com

Front World's seaports highly vulnerable to attack By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS - The world's seaports are vulnerable to terrorism, the United Nations warned on Monday. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in a 127-page study released here, said that maritime security has been placed high on the agenda of the international community following the terrorist attacks in the United States last September. Annan said attention is now being focused on "the adequacy of measures to prevent acts of terrorism, which threaten the security of passengers and crews, and the safety of ships". The London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) is scheduled to review and consider efforts to improve protection at its Conference on Maritime Security in December. Monday's study said coastal states face major obstacles in fighting terrorism and crimes at sea. These include shortage of trained personnel and equipment; obsolescence or inadequacy of most national legislation; and weak maritime law enforcement capability of national agencies. A necessary first step in addressing some of these problems is for member states to become parties to the relevant UN conventions that govern the suppression of these crimes, the study added. The UN warning comes amid reports that weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological and chemical arms, could be freely transported from country to country in containerized cargo. Addressing a US Senate subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information, a US official said early this month that US seaports may be the most vulnerable locations for terrorist attacks with weapons of mass destruction. Captain William Schubert, Maritime Administrator of the Department of Transportation, warned that an attack on even one ship would probably force the closure of all 361 US ports for months. "We would have to shut our ports down for four months just to check all the containers. If anything would ruin our economy, that would," he said. Currently, about 90 percent of all goods in global trade are carried as containerized sea cargo. The United States alone receives more than 6 million containers every year. But only about 10 percent undergo X-ray scanning at some of the busiest US ports, including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Oakland and Long Beach. Schubert said these containers are welded shut at foreign ports and delivered unopened to US cities. These containers are "perfect places" for terrorists to hide and deliver nuclear weapons, he added. Senator Diane Feinstein of California was quoted as saying that she would not mind if US ports are closed down for four months "if that will prevent a nuclear explosion". The UN study, "Oceans and the Law of the Sea", also said maritime security can be threatened either by a terrorist attack or as a result of other criminal activities at sea. These include acts of piracy, armed robbery against ships, smuggling of migrants, illicit traffic in narcotic drugs, and illicit traffic in firearms. In the 20 years since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), crimes at sea have become more prevalent and are increasing, the study warned. The framers of the convention never envisaged many of the crimes that exist today and, as a result, either included only a general provision or none at all regarding suppression, it added. The IMO has said that the number of reported attacks against ships last year, including piracy and armed robbery, came to 471, an increase of 162 or 52 percent over the figure for 1999. Most of the attacks worldwide were reported to have occurred in territorial waters while the ships were at anchor or berthed. The shipping industry has called on the UN to encourage its members to take preventive action, such as allocating sufficient law enforcement personnel and instituting national legislation addressing specific crimes. At the upcoming conference in December, the IMO has proposed several measures for consideration, including a review of issues relating to the installation of automatic identification systems on ships and the need for security plans on ships, port facilities and offshore terminals. Additionally, it is calling for a review of the need for identification verification and background security checks for seafarers and the establishment of a secure chain of custody for containers from their port of origin to their destinations. The IMO has also proposed the introduction of a mandatory requirement to provide details on the owner of a vessel prior to entry into port. (Inter Press Service)

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