Marine Log - January 2009 - (Page S3)

BY NICK BLENKEY MARITIME&PORTSECURITY WAKE UP CALL FROM MUMBAI f you’ve been lulled into a false sense of security by the lack of a recent major terrorist attack on a ship, the horrible events in Mumbai at the end of November should serve as wake up call. Now you know why the U.S. Coast Guard is so obsessed with “Maritime Domain Awareness.” If India was just as obsessed, perhaps the tragic events of Mumbai could have been averted. In examining the Mumbai incident, it is clear that not only did the terrorists arrive by sea, but also started their killing spree at sea. Although investigations are ongoing, what is known is that the terrorists exploited maritime security weaknesses. During the attacks, which lasted from Nov. 26 to 29, at least 173 people were killed and another 308 were injured. Although most headlines have focused on the terrorists attacks on hotels, hospitals, a Jewish center and a rail terminal, three people were killed in an explosion in the area of Mazagon Dockyard, one of India’s largest shipyards. It appears that the Mumbai terrorists boarded a merchant ship, identified as Al-Husseini, in Karachi, Pakistan, on Nov. 23. Press reports suggest that the organizers of the Mumbai attacks had control over the vessel because the actual attack team was able to leave it, at sea, to carry out the next part of the plan—the hijacking of an Indian fishing vessel, the Kuber. From the Kuber, the terrorists reached Mumbai via small inflatable boats. Intelligence officials are now reportedly gathering data from a Thuraya system satellite phone recovered from the Kuber, which was found drifting 6-7 miles off the Mumbai coast on Nov. 27. According to some reports, the Kuber was hijacked, while another suggests at least one crew member was part of the plot. Four crew members from the vessel are missing. The owners of the boat are being questioned. The boat’s captain, Amar Narayan, “was killed in a brutal manner by the terrorists. They tied his limbs and put a band around his eyes and then knifed his neck,” the Times of www.marinelog.com I Press reports indicate that the Mumbai terrorists started their killing spree at sea—by slitting the throat of a fishing vessel skipper India quotes a Coast Guard officer as saying. Ajmal Kasab, the only Mumbai attack terrorist captured alive, has reportedly told investigators that 17 terrorists selected for the Mumbai attack were led by Lashkar-e-Taiba commandant Zariur-Rehman, who took them to Azizabad port in Pakistan, where they boarded the Al-Husseini. The terrorists were instructed to hijack an Indian boat after crossing into Indian waters, Kasab is reported to have told the police. However, they sighted Kuber inside Pakistani waters. Kasab is said to have revealed that four of the five-member Kuber crew were shifted to Al-Husseini, while its captain was kept on board to navigate the Arabian Sea and reach Mumbai. Of the initial 17 terrorists, seven remained on the Al-Husseini, Kasab is said to have told police. How accurate initial Indian press reports will prove to be remains to be seen. However, media coverage is helping to create pressure for India to get its maritime security act together. And it is clear that India has a lot of catching up to play. TIGHTER SECURITY AHEAD In an Indian Express Op-Ed article in December, Commodore R. S. Vasan, who is Head, Strategy and Security Studies, Center for Asian Studies, Chennai, noted that India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Parliament on Dec. 11 that the Indian Coast Guard will henceforth be the sole agency responsible for protecting the maritime/coastal areas and the Navy will provide the back-up. “A coastal security scheme was approved in 2005. There is a need to strengthen it and integrate it into a larger security system,” said the Prime Minister, who also added: “Progress on the ground in this regard has obviously been tardy and too slow.” Commodore Vasan, a former naval officer, says “the decision to designate and empower the Indian Coast Guard, a costeffective marine service, as the sole agency is the right one, though long overdue.” The Coast Guard, he says, will now need to work out mechanisms to ensure interaction and synergy with all the agencies concerned to remain ahead of the challenges at sea and will require “additional force levels, manpower, institutionalized procedures and revamping of the existing security/intelligence/response architecture.” Commodore Vasan says that “the ports likewise would need to be placed under the Coast Guard despite the reservations of the Director-General Shipping. The designation of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) as a designated Recognized Security Organization (RSO) was JANUARY 2009 MARINE LOG S3 http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - January 2009

Marine Log - January 2009 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington What's On Your Hull? That Sinking Feeling Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Wake Up Call From Mumbai Events Security Guide Vietnam Stretches its Portfolio ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Marine Salvage

Marine Log - January 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.