Maritime Port Security Essay

The United States is at risk of falling apart forever in the 1860s. The southern United States has withdrawn from the north, and the war to follow will be the bloodiest test of our country in history. The north, otherwise known as The Union, devised a three-part plan to end the rebellion. They wanted to enforce a naval blockade to cut off supplies from the South. Next, they were to capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the South. Finally, The Union wanted to take control of the Mississippi River to cut off supplies from the South. The Naval Blockade, taking control of the Mississippi River, and capturing Richmond, Virginia was the three-part plan to end the Confederacy.

Intelligence and Warning is Border and Transportation Security is responsible for protecting America's borders, territorial waters, and transportation systems by centralizing information-sharing and databases that track and monitor all aspects of border control and America's transportation systems. Domestic Counterterrorism covers a wide variety of activities, ranging from National Security Agency monitoring of telephone conversations to local police monitoring of persons of interest. Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets identifies a clear set of national goals and objectives and outlines the guiding principles that will underpin our efforts to secure the infrastructures and assets vital to our national security, governance, public health and safety, economy, and public confidence. Defending against Catastrophic Threats reduces vulnerability of the United States to terrorism. Emergency Preparedness and Response will create one emergency response plan to be used at all levels of government and will ensure that first-responders, from the federal government level down to local levels, receive proper training and equipment.

Terrorism has been one of the major concerns of the entire world; however, the incident of 9/11 entirely changed the perception of governments towards the issue of terrorism. In this regard, the United States of America has significantly improvised its approach towards dealing with terrorism. The approach of the U.S. is also justifiable as the United States is the only country that had to face the maximum ramifications caused by terrorism as thousands of people have lost their lives in multiple terrorist acts. Moreover, the U.S. has also tolerated the loss of billions of dollars in the shape of loss of capital, and investing in improved military and intelligence services. Despite of all these efforts, the U.S. has always felt the threat of terrorist activities; based on this fact, the government and legislature of the United States of America has enacted many acts of Congress to ensure the security of the residents, capital, and assets of the country. Out of various strategies to make United States a safer country, the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act in considered the most imperative yet debated topic among the politicians as well as the public of the U.S.

The U.S. government took many steps to try to make the country safer. It tightened security at airports and in public buildings. A new cabinet-level department—the Department of Homeland Security was created. It works to protect the United States from any terrorist attacks (scholastic.com). The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) didn't exist before 9/11. The TSA was created to do three things: take responsibility for all modes of transportation; recruit, assess, hire, train and deploy security officers for 450 commercial airports from Guam to Alaska within 12 months; and provide 100 percent screening of all checked luggage for explosives. In the past, the TSA detected 50 million prohibited items, including 5,000 firearms on passengers attempting to board planes. Now, 50,000 TSA officers screen nearly two million air travelers each day

Would it be worth giving everything up just to fight for a cause that you and the people of your race believed in? Many would say yes and do anything in the world to get the rights that they think they deserve. In history, there have been many famous activists who stood up to the US Government and fought for their races rights. One group was the 50 men from Port Chicago that stood up to the US Navy during WW2. The soldiers of Port Chicago protested out of their free will, were penalized for acting upon the issue, and made a difference in the US Navy and all over the country.

An obstacle that arises in securing ships and ports is that of travelling to foreign ports. Security professionals are are encouraging the United States government to extend U.S. boundaries to foreign ports, which would put much emphasis on security at loading points (70). The fear is that attackers will board a ship at a foreign port and sail to American soil where they could practice terrorism. A way that shipping security has changed is that of the plan of the Container Security Initiative (CSI), which calls for international security criteria to identify high-risk cargo containers for pre-screening at their point of shipment (70). The Coast Guard has also increased patrols in the U.S. ports and waterways, specifically around the nation’s critical petro-chemical facilities (71). By 2004, The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code took effect requiring ship operators to develop security plans, appoint ship and company security officers and maintain a minimum level of on board security, while port officers are required to develop similar plans and hire a port facility security officer (71). This code made it mandatory for all ships to be secure both while still in ports and also while travelling. Not only does this protect passengers aboard the ship, but also citizens of the United States as threats cannot enter the country through shipping

The CBP has an extremely important role in protecting the United States border and that most certainly involves protecting the maritime and port operations within the United States. Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which

U.S Customs And Border Protection - is responsible for preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the united states.

Some of those collaborating are Marine Transportation System National Advisory Council (MTSNAC), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The IMO is leading an initiative in collaboration with many United Nations (UN) organizations in an attempt to create national legislation that will outlaw piracy. NATO is continuing to enhance its collaboration with its partners and international actors such as the European Union to ensure maritime security. Additionally among other programs that NATO oversees, Operation Ocean Shield is assisting in the fight against piracy off the Horn of

However, it is integrated within other strategies the multiple agencies are currently using. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP estimates the 70,000 foreign boat arrivals recorded in the Pleasure Boat Reporting System (PBRS) was only a small portion of the small boats that arrived in the U.S. The risk is small vessels are also risky. It is possible to configure them with Waterborne Improvised Explosive Devices (WBIEDs) writes Department of Homeland Security (2008). Most security policies are set up to reduce the security risk of larger vessels. The intent of the strategy was to inform the public on measures that they can take to keep the waterways and the country safe. Since there are a large number of small vessels in the waterways, it is possible for them to see suspicious activities before law enforcement agencies see it. They should understand what actions to

September 11, 2001, the worst terrorist attack on US soil to date, killing thousands of people, rocketed the nation. This led to formation of the Department of Homeland Security. While the department of Homeland Security has many responsibilities, one of its primary roles is preventing acts of terrorism like the 9/11 attacks. Terrorism is a broad subject matter, it can be hard to fully cover it. The Department of Homeland securities’ terrorism prevention plan attempt s to do this by breaking down into nine main components. The nine main components of homeland securities' terrorism prevention plan are Biological security, Chemical security, Nuclear Security, explosives, Countering Violent Extremism, Secure Driver's Licenses, The

President Bush signed an Aviation and Transportation Security Act that made airport security the responsibility of the federal government. Before 9/11, each individual airport had their own security type or security. This created a new agency called the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). They inspect airline passengers, baggage, and cargo. Not only are they responsible for transportation on planes, but also safety on railroads, buses, and mass transit systems. Today, many debate about the privacy of these tactics. The United States tries to fight terrorism and balance national security with civil

Two months after the 9/11 attacks, congress passed Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and federalized airports. Prior to 9/11 airport security was outsourced to private companies with very lackadaisical regulations. The TSA and the Federal Air Marshall Service (FAMs). 9/11 affected all aspects of travel, even railways. Since 9/11there have been multiple attacks against transit systems including Moscow, Madrid and London by terrorist cells either affiliated or sympathetic to al Qaeda. President George W. Bush signed into effect the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) currently has a limited ability to persistently monitor, detect, and track, non-emitting vessels that operate in Customs Waters, which spans from the shore line out to 12 nautical miles. The volume of non-emitting vessels without metadata is due in part by the lack of regulatory policy mandating vessels broadcast their identification and location which would assist with Maritime Domain Awareness. This limited ability situates DHS in need to mature the Maritime Domain Awareness Network and optimize the existing infrastructure and allows for flexibility to expand and evolve as the threat changes.

Apart from the 4 factors ship type, DWT, ship age and gears, there are a couple of other factors which affect the ship price. They are