Maritime Security Counter Terrorism Lessons From Maritime Piracy And Narcotics Interdiction

It can be easy to forget the critical role that maritime transport plays in the global economy, but international maritime transportation is still responsible for around 90% of global trade. Protecting the maritime infrastructure essential for this trade from terrorism is a major concern for the international community. This book originates from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) Counter-Terrorism Lessons from Maritime Piracy and Narcotics Interdiction, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May 2019. Participants in the three-day workshop included policymakers, senior military officers, and academics from NATO member states, international organizations, and two partner nations: Colombia and Israel. Their extensive discussions focused on methods for protecting critical maritime infrastructure, such as ports, supplies, and personnel, from seaborne terrorist attacks. Presentations and roundtables also addressed the human and social factors that contribute to the defense against terrorism in the maritime domain. The book is divided into three sections: organized crime and narcotrafficking; maritime piracy; and terrorism, and aims to bridge the gaps between these three substantive areas of maritime security research. These have remained largely separate areas of research in the past, with the result that valuable maritime security lessons from counter-piracy and counter-narcotics operations have not been fully incorporated into counter-terrorism best practice. The book facilitates the transmission of lessons learned from counter-piracy and counter-narcotic operations to formulate recommendations for best practice and technological innovations to manage maritime terrorism, and will be of interest to all those working in the field.

Incidents of piracy doubled in number from 2008 to 2009, highlighting the need for stronger measures to combat the problem. At the same time, the threat from terrorist actions in the maritime environment also represents an increasingly worrying trend. This book presents the proceedings of the NATO Centre of Excellence u Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT) Advanced Research Workshop, entitled aeMaritime Security and Defence Against TerrorismAE, held in Ankara, Turkey, in November 2010. The workshop consisted of four sessions: threats in the maritime environment; vulnerabilities and sensitivities of maritime security; combating the threats to maritime security and maritime terrorism; and lastly, Turkey's contribution to global maritime security. Each of the presentations was followed by a debate, with the 10 experts from five countries joining the group of international participants to discuss the issues raised together; the aim of the workshop being to facilitate awareness of the issues in NATO and affiliated countries.Representing a significant contribution to finding the way forward in maritime security, this book will be of interest to all those whose work involves them in countering piracy and the terrorist threat in the maritime environment.

Do piracy and maritime terrorism, individually or together, present a threat to international security, and what relationship if any exists between them? Piracy may be a marginal problem in itself, but the connections between organised piracy and wider criminal networks and corruption on land make it an element of a phenomenon that can have a weakening effect on states and a destabilising one on the regions in which it is found. Furthermore, it is also an aspect of a broader problem of disorder at sea that, exacerbated by the increasing pressure on littoral waters from growing numbers of people and organisations seeking to exploit maritime resources, encourages maritime criminality and gives insurgents and terrorists the freedom to operate. In this context, maritime terrorism, though currently only a low-level threat, has the potential to spread and become more effective in the event of political change on land. It is only by addressing the issue of generalised maritime disorder that the problems of piracy and maritime terrorism may be controlled in the long term.

"Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Piracy and Maritime Terrorism: Logistics, Strategies, Scenarios, Lisbon, Portugal, 19-22 May 2009."

Seventy percent of our planet is covered by water, and even in today's world of instant communication the global community is still heavily reliant on sea-based transport. The maritime domain has always been one of NATO's key strengths, but concerns about maritime security have taken on renewed importance in recent years, and NATO has been forced to re-examine some of its fundamental assumptions about the post Cold War security environment. This book shares some of the research, debates and findings from a NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW); Building Trust to Enhance Maritime Security, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in November 2014. The chapters in the book deal extensively with lessons learned by NATO from a wide range of policies, operations and situations. This maritime experience has been amassed from the Atlantic and Mediterranean to the Baltic and the Black Sea, and even into the Indian Ocean, as well as from the four decades spent defending NATO allies on the high seas during the Cold War. The single most profound lesson learned over the years has concerned the importance of efficient coordination. Structures and mechanisms have been created, not least in recent counter piracy operations, which enable a vast array of actors to work together in an efficient way, and which could prove invaluable in future efforts to counter terrorism and aggression worldwide. The safety of the maritime domain is essential to the freedom and security of all nations, and this book will be of interest to all those whose work involves maintaining that freedom and security.

The pirates of Somalia have shaken the maritime world. They have mounted what amounts to the most substantial non-state threat to the security of international shipping for half a century and perhaps longer. Piracy outbreaks have also occurred in Southeast Asia and West Africa. In each case the international community has responded differently. What lessons can be learned from three different approaches and is it possible to distill lessons of international best practice that can be applied in the Gulf of Aden and the northern Arabian Sea? This paper will examine how and why these three piracy outbreaks arose. It will describe in particular why the threat off Somalia grew so rapidly, why it declined and why the elements that made it successful remain in place. It will examine the responses of the international community, asking whether or not the response off Somalia might have been more effective if it had benefitted from stronger international backing and more coherent coordination. It will make the point that maritime security – the prevention and suppression of disorder at sea – must address many more issues than piracy as the theft of fish and the movement of drugs; weapons and people can often present greater risks. It will build on this point by looking at maritime security developments drawn from all three regions that may be employed advantageously in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, before circling back to look at the fundamental problem, which is one of landward security and asking what initiatives have been taken to address this in Somalia and which ones appear to be yielding results. Finally, it will examine whether the way forward does lie with a unified global initiative, or if steps are better taken regionally calling upon extra-regional support as necessary.

The vast size and highly unregulated nature of the world's waterways have made the maritime environment an increasingly attractive theater for perpetrators of transnational violence. Piracy and sea-borne terrorism have been on the rise since 2000. While the United States has spearheaded several important initiatives to improve maritime security, the author urges policymakers to consider four additional measures to safeguard the world's oceans.

Even Before The 9/11 Terrorist Strikes In The Usa, Intelligence And Counter-Terrorism Agencies Of The World Had Been Concerned Over The Likelihood Of Acts Of Maritime Terrorism Directed At International Trade, And Particularly Energy Supplies. Instances Of Sea-Piracy In The Malacca Straits And Arabian Sea In The Recent Past Have Added To The International Community S Concern Over Maritime Security And Have Posed A New Challenge To Security Agencies Across The World. This Concern And The Quest For New And Effective Approaches To Intelligence Gathering And Security Policies Have Led To A Lot Of Debate, Research And Conferences.