Tag: security measures

Compliance with Best Management Practices (BMP) is recommended as the "default" position but a full risk assessment should be part of the area specific evaluations. The BUDD Group, Gard's correspondent in Togo, reported on 26 June 2012 that the Togolese government has reached an agreement with security companies for the provision of armed guards for vessels at anchorages in the port of Lome and ha

Australian ports, face a new crackdown to stem a growing tide of illegal drugs and weapons

Bureau of International Recycling survey findings re container security The results of a recent survey conducted by the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in conjunction with an international trade association have served to underline the challenges associated with container security and theft from containers.The recent survey of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) membership found that thefts occurred from consignments carried by all of the major container shipping lines, on shipments originating in many countries. The common factor was that the thefts occurred in consignments almost exclusively bound for southern China- though this is more a reflection of the fact that the country is by far and away the biggest importer of scrap metals. Losses were however also reported in other parts of the world.IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan commented: "We share the concerns of the BIR over the scale and nature of the theft of scrap metals in certain parts of the world. The results reveal that all too often valuable cargoes - notably copper scrap exports- are removed from shipping containers before they reach their intended recipients. The reported losses run into millions of dollars, with one BIR member reporting losses in excess of USD 1 million in a ...

Consequences of a terrorist attack on a tanker carrying LNG Brussels is to study the consequences of a terrorist attack on a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas, oil or chemicals.The European Commission's mobility and transport directorate has called for tender documents on the study - the latest in a series of maritime security reports - to be submitted by August 15.The purpose of the research is to analyse the "vulnerability of LNG, oil and chemical tankers with respect to terrorist attacks", evaluate the consequences and to make proposals for appropriate measures of protection.A source within the directorate stressed there was no perceived heightened security threat to tankers, and the study was "purely a matter of procedure".In its tender document for the year-long study, the commission states: "The European Union is largely depending on energy imports. Alongside with oil tankers, gas tankers transporting LNG/LPG will become crucial for ensuring the energy supply and both the number of tankers and the number of LNG/LPG port facilities will substantially increase."Furthermore, the EU is also a major trade partner regarding chemicals, refinery products, fertiliser and gasoline, a significant part of which is transported by ship."With their inflammable, explosive and/or toxic products, these tankers may ...

Groud- breaking technology for bulk cargo screening A ground-breaking technological development from a UK-based company could change the future of security at ports. In a move that brings together nature and technology, bulk cargo screening could soon be carried out by an unlikely source - sniffer bees.Scientists at Inscentinel, commonly known as the sniffer bee company, have devised an ingenious way of harnessing the insect's powerful sense of smell to detect explosive material and drugs hidden in cargo.The process begins with the capturing of honey bees, which are then trained to associate drugs and explosives with sugar water. The training of the bees is a relatively simple process: a honeybee sticks out its Proboscis (or less scientifically, its tongue) and gets a touch of sugar water on its antenna. At that point, if it were exposed to the smell of explosives, it will associate explosives with sugar water and thereafter stick its tongue out on the exposure to TNT, for example.Once fully trained the bees can be used in a handheld sensor, the Vasor136, where the entire process last just six seconds. The sniffer bees inside the Vasor136 are monitored electronically through an infrared sensor. The information is displayed in ...

Piracy off the coast of Somalia remains a critical issue Piracy off the coast of Somalia remains a critical issue for the United States, the international community, and the global economy, said U.S. Principal Deputy Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Thomas Kelly. Since 2008, Somali pirates have hijacked 175 vessels and attacked at least 445 others. They have kidnapped 3,000 crew members from over 40 countries and are still holding 241 hostages today. They hijacked 27 ships last year and six already this year.Somalia offers pirates nearly ideal conditions.Along the coastline where pirates operate there is little governance and weak institutions provide them with safe haven. Furthermore, Somalia sits along one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.In confronting piracy, the U.S. has pursued an integrated multi-dimensional approach, which has begun to turn the tide on this transnational crime. In 2009, the U.S. helped establish the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia to promote action and coordinate efforts to suppress Somali piracy. It will also be critical to re-establish stability, responsive law enforcement, and effective governance in Somalia.In addition to diplomatic efforts, the U.S. has taken steps to increase security at sea including the Combined Task Force ...

Manila faces an escalating dispute with China The US military said Tuesday it planned to help the Philippines monitor its coastal waters as Manila faces an escalating dispute with China over territorial claims.The Pentagon revised earlier comments and said there was no firm plan to deliver a land-based radar to the Philippines, but that a radar could be part of future assistance."We are in the initial planning stages of assisting the Philippines with a National Coast Watch Center," Major Catherine Wilkinson told AFP.The center is designed "to create an overall picture of what is going on in the Philippines' territorial waters," she said."Right now we are discussing a range of options and no details have been finalized. Radars may be an eventual part of the package but it hasn't been determined yet."The cost and the time line for the project were still being worked out, she said.The Philippines has requested radar, patrol aircraft and naval vessels as it seeks to bolster its position in a row with China over the Scarborough Shoal, which lies near the main Philippine island of Luzon.China claims the area along with virtually all of the South China Sea up to the shores of other Southeast ...

Fisherman died after inhaling carbon monoxide from portable pump A crewman who collapsed on the "Starlight Rays" in August 2011 and never regained consciousness was poisoned by carbon monoxide, a report into his death has found. He and two other crew members were airlifted to hospital from the vessel which was on stand-by for the oil industry in the Devenick field, about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, but one man died.The fisherman was trying to use a portable, petrol engine-driven pump to remove oily water from a compartment inside the boat's fish hold. The hold did not have mechanical ventilation and had little circulation of natural air, causing high levels of carbon monoxide to build up, a report by the Marine Accidents Investigations Branch found.The other two men were also overcome by the fumes as they tried to rescue their colleague but they recovered. The report said the accident demonstrated "inadequate consideration and control of hazardous work activities on board the 'Starlight Rays'". It said crewmen need to be more aware of the dangers of working in enclosed spaces, and has sent a safety flyer to the fishing industry.It recommended that the owner and skippers of the "Starlight Rays" improve ...

International community must help Somalia build its own security International forces cannot solve Somalia's security problems in the long term and the fragile country needs its own strong force to do the job, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday.Ban spoke spoke at a conference in Istanbul that aims to support Somalia in a transition process calling for a new constitution and parliament, and the election of a president, by Aug. 20. The Horn of Africa nation dissolved into anarchy in 1991 and has endured conflict and deprivation ever since. African Union troops have helped Somalia's transitional government in itsAyhan Arfat/Associated Press - In this Thursday, May 31, 2012 photo photo provided by Turkish Presidency Press Service, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul, right, and Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, second left, are seen during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. Ali said Thursday that his country has more to offer than pirates, militants and images of the hungry, and that Somalis can even teach the world a thing or twoWhile significant gains have been made in that fight, Ban said the international community must help Somalia build its own security apparatus, establish the rule of law and shed a pervasive culture of ...

Security firms technology puts Louisianas Port Fourchon in elite company The Greater Lafourche Port Commission, in partnership with national security firm Crescent Guardian, Inc., has completed implementation of an advanced video analytics application to accompany its next-generation video surveillance system. This milestone ensures that first responders in Port Fourchon are receiving "as they happen" alerts identified automatically by the surveillance system and can coordinate their response in real time. This level of data sharing and interoperability is unprecedented and will aid in lowering response times and overall situational awareness during real-time events, placing the port's security among the most advanced in the nation.The Greater Lafourche Port Commission's is committed to continually improving the security and emergency response preparedness of Port Fourchon by building a Maritime Domain Awareness System that allows local, state and federal agencies such as Harbor Police, Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office, LOOP, Lafourche Parish EOC, Fire Central Dispatchers, GOHSEP, Department of Defense, Customs, and Coast Guard to collaborate effectively and become more proactive. To do this, the port's director of information technology, April Danos, wanted to find a way to take all technologies and disparate data and bring them into one common operating picture that would allow these ...