Port Security News 
Not Just a Bad Hair Day
Commander Robert W. Witzleb, U.S. Navy, and Scott C. Truver
2008-10-03
Without warning, a tower of seawater suddenly
envelops both sides of the bow and a massive shudder
passes down the length of the ship. With the deck under
his feet rapidly taking on a foreboding list and reports of
massive flooding in his ship’s forward compartments, the
captain takes the only course of action he has left.
Navy personnel are astonished to see a commercial ship
entering the restricted waters of the Point Loma submarine
base and grinding to a halt on the seafloor near the
entrance of San Diego’s harbor. In less than an hour, a
nuclear-powered attack submarine was to transit the channel
now blocked by the massive cargo ship. Other warships
scheduled to depart the base are also trapped.
As the Coast Guard pieces together available facts, prudence
requires initial treatment of the incident as a hostile act.
With the possibility that a terrorist act has occurred in U.S.
waters, the White House is informed. As investigators mull
over the situation, the uncertainty of its cause disappears. Reports
arrive that a cruise ship has been severely damaged by
an underwater explosion in Seattle’s harbor and a petroleum
tanker is burning in the Houston Ship Channel after a similar
underwater event. Somehow, terrorists have pulled off coordinated
attacks against U.S. ports and waterways––America’s
soft underbelly. Coast Guard Captains of the Port quickly
close all other ports and harbors from Maine to Guam to all
but emergency traffic. Nothing else moves....Full Story Here
Nigerian Oil Threat
Steve Mufson
2008-09-22
The week started like this: "At 2210 Hrs on Monday, September 15, 2008, a major crude oil pipeline at Bakana Front in Degema Local Government Area in Rivers state of Nigeria belonging to the Shell Petroleum Development Company was destroyed with high explosives by Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) detonation engineers backed by heavily armed fighters."...Full Story Here
Why we have to pay attention to small port security
Geoff Kohl
2008-09-19
On Tuesday of the ASIS show, I had the genuine pleasure of joining a number of security professionals to hear from Laurie Thomas of the University of Findlay (located in Ohio) about the topic of maritime security. Thomas is part of the University of Findlay's School of Environmental and Emergency Management, and is involved in areas of security training, emergency operations and terrorism preparedness....Full Story Here
Project Seahawk Part 2
Tracey Amick, Live 5 News
2008-09-17
In the worst case scenario: new funding would not be provided, so the detection tools would not be utilized, all of the technology would fall to the wayside, and the Seahawk Op center would go from an interagency operation center to a federal office building....Full Story Here
One of these things is not like the others: Customizing terrorism preparedness to meet L.A. County's unique needs
Linda Spagnoli
2008-09-01
Chief William McSweeney heads the Office of Homeland Security for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. Known as the largest sheriff's office in the world, this agency protects 44 of the 88 cities within Los Angeles County, oversees the transit police and operates the largest jail system in the country....Full Story Here
Orca Maritime in the News
Port Security: Sea mines, UWIEDs and other threats
EagleSpeak
2008-05-01
The 2004 terrorist attack on the Philippine Superferry 14 resulted in the deaths of 116 people and the loss of the ship. In that case, the damage was wrought by a bomb planted inside the ferry. Increased security for ships and ferries may cause terrorists to look to other ways to cause such damage to ships and to vital shipping lanes, including those in ports or inshore areas.
...Full Story Here
Safe Harbor: Concept to Technologies 2007 Explores Mining Threat to U.S. Ports
Story written by Ashley Lovejoy. Photos by Sandy Atkinson.
2008-02-26
The war game, sponsored by the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command (NMAWC), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Organic Mine Countermeasures (OMCM), Future Naval Capabilities (FNC), program and the Naval Oceanography and Meteorology Command (NMOC), tasked defense, government and industry participants to develop a credible and effective plan, response and program to prepare for the defeat of this purported mining threat....Full Story Here