Maritime transport security
- Discuss the Maritime Security Act
The Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) was passed by Congress in 2002 with the aim of increasing security in the country’s seaports. The act provides for guidelines that vessel owners, port and vessel facilities are expected to adhere to. It is a comprehensive safety program, which was an Amendment to the Merchant Maritime Act. The MTSA regulations covers; security personnel for vessels and facilities, establishment of restricted areas, installation of surveillance systems in the facilities, procedures necessary in implementing security measures put in place, security plans, and security assessment protocols (Gasperetti, 2018). The regulations provided in the Act have been very important in improving the security of the country’s waters.
- Discuss OECD: Security in Maritime Transport
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has since its formation been recognizing the importance of maritime transport in world trade and spurring economic growth. The security concerns of OECD are terrorist attacks involving maritime transport since these vulnerabilities would cripple the world economy. The report by OECD on Security in Maritime Transport: Risk Factors and Economic Impact in 2003 was triggered by a terrorist attack at the World Trade Center in New York and raised a security concern in maritime transport as a vulnerable area for future attacks. The OECD campaigns towards enacting regulations that will mitigate the risks and close all the vulnerabilities maritime transport is exposed to. It recommends to member states that despite the high cost of implementing high-security systems, it is better than doing nothing since if a terror strike would hit, then the impact in terms of cost and disruptions to the world economy would be unrecoverable.
- How do we balance maritime risk factors with economic impact?
There has been heightened awareness in the United States on vulnerabilities of terrorist attacks not just in maritime transport but also in other modes of transport. Such vulnerabilities call for measures to improve port security and ensure the port remains safe. Being the primary mode of transportation for world trade, maritime transport’s economic importance to the country cannot be ignored. Disruptions in transport would lead to an immediate disruption to trade with other world economies (Gasperetti, 2018). Enhanced security also means more costs, however, the economic benefit of the security outweighs the cost disadvantage. Improved shipment integrity, easier shipment tracking, reduced trade law violations, improved equipment utilization, improved responses to other emergencies within the port, reduced thefts, reduced smuggling and a boost to national security are some of the economic benefits achieved by curbing maritime security risk factors.
References
Gasperetti, U. Lt. B. (2018, February 9). Security Since 9/11: Creating the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the ISPS Code – Homeland Security Today. Retrieved December 6, 2019, from https://www.hstoday.us/uncategorized/security-since-9-11-creating-maritime-transportation-security-act-isps-code/
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), (2003). SECURITY IN MARITIME TRANSPORT: RISK FACTORS AND ECONOMIC IMPACT (Maritime Transport Committee). Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/newsroom/4375896.pdf