Overview of Maritime Security and Definitions

For ages, shipping has been vulnerable to various maritime crimes. The collected data from maritime security incidents is a clear reflection of the fact that the industry was exposed to multiple maritime crimes year after year. Threats to the maritime industry were also seen during the Iran-Iraq war days. Numerous ships and maritime infrastructure were targeted during the period 1980- 1988. The hijacking of the Achille Lauro on October 7, 1985, an Italian cruise ship carrying 400 passengers by the Palestinian Liberation Front and killing of 69-year-old Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish-American exposed the lack of security in the industry. This incident raised concerns among the International Maritime Organization member states, as it threatened numerous human lives.

The terrorist attack on the United States in 2001 further drew the attention of the world to the severity of the crime that may be committed and the level of motivation of the perpetrators. The hijacking of an aircraft is rare as it involves the crossing of several security barriers in the presence of security officials. However, no such barriers exist when a ship is at sea. Criminals can easily board a ship, overpower the crew and exploit it for achieving their goals. Some security experts fear that the biggest nightmare would be if a ship carrying explosive cargo, like LNG, were to be hijacked to be used as Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD). The extent of damage that could be caused in such case can be seen from the collision between Norwegian steamer, Belgian relief ship Imo and ammunition steamer Mont Blanc on December 6, 1917, in Halifax Harbor. The collision resulted in an explosion that destroyed more than 325 acres of Halifax city, killing more than 1600 people, injuring more than 9,000, and destroying more than 12,000 buildings.

For years, yachts and oceans have been used to get away from the crowds, media, and various sets of prying eyes. This is rapidly changing with consumer drones that are cheap and easy to obtain and control. They are able to fly kilometers on a single charge and by pilots having minimal training. Powerful cameras are attached to the drone’s underbelly and their use is changing what used to be a tranquil space. While beneficial uses of drones are plentiful, so are the nefarious applications. ISIS has been reported to strap DIY grenades to drones and deploy against Iraqi military and civilian populations. Plane spotters deploying drones have been creating havoc around airports with flights halted until the drones are neutralized. Prisons regularly report that contraband is delivered by drones and there are many other novel uses of this new technology.

On the occasion of people being rescued at sea such as immigrants, some sort of negotiations might be required in order to maintain order and safety onboard a yacht. Likewise, on the occasion of a hostage situation, some basic negotiation skills will be needed to make an understanding of the situation. Though in such cases professional negotiators will be eventually involved as soon as the authorities arrive on the scene, there will always be a critical time gap between the occurrence of the incident and the take-over by professionals.

We negotiate every day, with co-workers, friends, and spouses. Some negotiations might be small, such as what restaurant will have dinner tonight or who will drive the kids to school and some might involve large stakes, such as convince people to stop posing a threat to themselves or others. Situations as the latter go beyond the level of a simple disagreement, they are extremely stressful and could easily end-up in a conflict if not being the result of a conflict that wasn’t dealt in a positive and constructive way. Usually, the sooner one deals with a conflict by negotiating the better possibilities will have to resolve it but the timely response will not do only.

Cybercrime is one of the fastest growing areas of illegal activity worldwide. In 2016, climbs to the second most reported economic crime, affecting 32% of organizations¹ and cost the global economy over $450 billion. The recent global malware attack, known as WannaCry², infected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries, causing mass disruption to banks, hospitals, and other organizations³. Some estimate that cybercrime will cost businesses over $2 trillion by 2019⁴.

Nowadays most ships are increasingly using systems that rely on digitization⁵, integration, and automation. As technology continues to develop, information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) onboard ships are being networked together – and more frequently connected to the internet. This brings the greater risk of unauthorized access or malicious attacks to ship’s systems and networks. Risks may also occur from personnel accessing systems on board, for example by introducing malware via removable media.

Every year thousands of immigrants or refugees leave their homelands and travel many miles by sea in an attempt to find better living and work conditions or seeking international protection against threats to their life. These desperate people very often risk their lives using overcrowded, old and decrepit vessels as they try to reach to their destination (in most of cases are the Southern European countries). Many of them do not manage to reach their final destination as accidents are common and many lives are lost at sea. 

The purpose of this article is to highlight the problem caused from the illegal movement of migrants and refugees via sea and to focus to the effects it has on merchant shipping and yachts sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.

By Dimitris Raftogiannis

The fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq is continuing resulting in big loses for the terrorist organization. It loses territory, strongholds and hundreds of its fighters. The fight for Mosul is over with ISIS forces suffering heavy casualties. At the same time the offensive against Raqqa, its capital city, continues. The loss of Raqqa to alliance forces will be a major blow to likely determine the future of the so called caliphate. The caliphate is being crushed but its collapse will have serious consequences for the West as its fighters will travel to western countries as well as unstable regions to continue jihad one way or another.

Some months ago the former FBI Director James Comey acknowledged “the caliphate will be crushed…” and the result “will be a terrorist diaspora sometime in the next two to five years like we’ve never seen before.”