Chris Doane News

Energy.It seems that energy touches every aspect of our lives from heating our homes to ensuring that fresh produce is available at grocery stores. It powers our cars and allows industry to move products around the world. The connection between energy and risk to the maritime environment has been a growing area of discussion, research and analysis. The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy, within its Joint Doctrine Publication (JDOP 0-10) 5th edition UK Maritime Power, captured this issue superbly: “Fossil fuels and minerals are an important resource in the maritime environment. New deposits of oil and gas, as well as mineral wealth, are discovered under the seabed each year, and improvements in technology will facilitate future exploitation.

Closely associated with the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA) is the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code enacted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Implementation of the ISPS code will provide a comprehensive framework for global maritime security while facilitating the flow of commerce through the maritime transportation system. The 108 countries that comprise the IMO, including the U.S., adopted the ISPS code in December of 2002. The code, along with amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, sets forth several functional requirements to achieve maritime security.

The Layered Defense. This classic military strategy has been used as a primary approach for defending a valuable target, infrastructure or piece of property for centuries. Medieval rulers had wide moats and drawbridges surrounding their castles, followed by high walls and armies ready with flaming arrows or large caldrons of hot metal ready to dump on the attacking force to slow their advances. Modern day security barriers are now a fixture at every U.S. embassy around the world. The idea of a layered defense has been a primary tactic that have served military commanders well. The layered defense strategy is also a cornerstone of security in the maritime arena, especially in the United States following the cowardly attack on the USS COLE.

The Layered Defense. This classic military strategy has been used as a primary approach for defending a valuable target, infrastructure or piece of property for centuries. Medieval rulers had wide moats and drawbridges surrounding their castles, followed by high walls and armies ready with flaming arrows or large caldrons of hot metal ready to dump on the attacking force to slow their advances. Modern day security barriers are now a fixture at every U.S. embassy around the world. The idea of a layered defense has been a primary tactic that have served military commanders well. The layered defense strategy is also a cornerstone of security in the maritime arena, especially in the United States following the cowardly attack on the USS COLE.

The horrific attacks on 9-11, and the subsequent increase in maritime security required to protect against asymmetric maritime attacks, has dramatically changed the U. S. Coast Guard. They have changed the service's emphasis on port security as well as its ethos in the eyes of the nation it serves. Previously, the Coast Guard received national media attention mostly when it was involved in a dramatic at-sea rescue leaving a public perception of the service as lifesavers. Since 9-11, because of its port security efforts and its overall role in Homeland Security, the Coast Guard has received more national level public, political and media attention than at any other time in its long history and its public image is rapidly shifting from lifesaver to protector. Consider the following examples.

Y2K. Remember the dire warnings four years ago as the world raced towards the stroke of midnight ushering in 2000? Editorials screamed that computer systems everywhere would fail making bank accounts inaccessible, traffic lights inoperable and the whole air traffic control system would come to a screeching halt leaving airplanes without guidance. Y2K disaster preparation "kits" were sold over the Internet as survivalists worried about governments all over the world failing and universal chaos occurring. Despite all these dire predictions from experts and average citizens alike governments, working in partnerships with industry (both large and small), took a very proactive approach, developed solutions and the great cyber meltdown never occurred.

Since 9-11 all facets of the media have combined to focus national policy makers, in and out of government, along with the general public on the asymmetric terrorist threat facing the United States and its global trading partners. Lengthy newspaper articles or Op-ed pieces, documentaries on television such as The Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel, along with talk radio banter have spotlighted multiple areas of concern. These have included airplanes, tanker trucks, critical infrastructure and the country's bustling seaports such as New York and Los Angles. The maritime nexus in particular has received a lot of attention as over 90 percent of the nation's commerce travels by water.

Over 20 million shipping containers enter the U.S. each year, most onboard ships. These containers are the life blood of a national economy fed by an industry that depends upon the just-in-time delivery of goods and supplies rather than maintaining expensive inventories. Any actions that slow the flow of these containers will have a significant economic impact. Yet containers are very affordable, Council on Foreign Affairs’ Dr. Stephen Flynn noted in his book “America the Vulnerable” (Harper Collins), “The challenge of securing the loading and movement of containers is formidable. Anyone who has $3,000 to $5,000 can lease one of the many millions of containers that circulate around the globe.