Marine Log - August 2007 - (Page 30) PORTSECURITY ICE CLASS TANKERS Trinidad and Tobago is a major sup p l i e r o f L N G i n t o t h e U. S . , i n c l u d i n g cities such as Boston USCG photo CARIBBEAN PORT SECURITY CHALLENGES REMAIN he Caribbean Basin is critical important to the U.S. economy. Caribbean ports provide transshipment points for cargo containers and are major cruise ship destinations, serving nearly 7 milion North American cruise passengers in 2006. Additionally, Trinidad and Tobago, for example, supplies 70% of the imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Venezuela and Mexico are major suppliers of petroleum. Security challenges still remain for Caribbean ports, according to a recently released U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) report. The report, which was required by the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006, identifies several concerns. Among these concerns are (1) the level of corruption that exists in some Caribbean nations to undermine the rule of law in these countries, (2) organized gang activity occurring in proximity to or 30 MARINE LOG AUGUST 2007 T within port facilities, and (3) the geographic proximity of many Caribbean countries, which has made them transit countries for cocaine and heroin destined for U.S. markets. Other security concerns in the Caribbean Basin mentioned by U.S. agency officials include stowaways, illegal migration, and the growing influence of Islamic radical groups and other foreign terrorist organizations. Foreign governments and local stakeholders in the Caribbean Basin have taken a number of steps to implement the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, although challenges for further progress remain. The U.S. Coast Guard has visited a number of Caribbean Basin countries to observe the security and antiterrorism measures put in place at their ports to determine the degree to which the ISPS Code has been implemented. Final reports from these visits have been issued for 14 of the 29 Caribbean Nations included in the GAO report. Most of the countries were found to have “substantially implemented the ISPS Code.” Even so, the Coast Guard also found that facilities within some countries needed to make improvements or take additional measures. According to a Coast Guard official, while the Coast Guard cannot require the facilities to make improvements to respond to Coast Guard's findings, improvements have been made in order to avoid potential difficulties in conducting trade with the United States. GAO says its prior work on maritime security issues has revealed that the three most likely modes of attack in the port environment are a suicide attack using an explosive-laden vehicle or vessel, a standoff attack using small arms or rockets, and the traditional armed assault. ML www.marinelog.com http://www.marinelog.com
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.