Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to provide alternative methods of combating maritime terrorism Maritime terrorism has become one of the common crimes that caused a major threat to national security of a state. In the case of United States, it tried to veer away from reactive counterterrorism law enforcement methods and moved towards the implementation of more proactive techniques to combat international terrorism (Wilson 28). Such shift was done due to the changing nature of the terrorist threat that takes place overseas. The US has deemed that the more effective means to prevent terrorism is by carrying out more diplomatic, economic, military, and legal strategies (Romero 597).
Analysis
One of the alternative proactive means to combat maritime terrorism is through the Container Security Initiative (CSI). Maritime terrorism involves wide range of activities such as suicide bombing that is accomplished by targeting vessels that are filled with explosives. One illustration of such maritime attack is the case of the USS Cole in October 12, 2000, wherein seventeen people were killed and the thirty-nine American sailors were wounded during a prearranged fuel stop in the port of Aden in Yemen (Romero 598). Another incident in October 2002 occurred which involved a small fishing craft that was heavily packed with explosives and collided with the French supertanker Limburg that was about twelve miles off the coast of Yemen. Not only did the explosion ripped the supertanker, it also resulted to the death of a crew member and the injured twelve other people due to the explosion. It also caused the release of 50,000 barrels of crude oil into the sea. It is important to consider the cost and dangerous effects of these types of attacks, the loss of human lives and injuries, as well as the political, economic, and strategic consequences for American vessels traversing the international seas. These America vessels pass through the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea and carry almost one-third of all global trade in oil (Romero 598).
Conclusion
Majority of the nations in the world should continuously develop and implement alternative policies to prevent maritime terrorism. In the case of the US, the creation of the CSI is a Bureau of Customs and Border Protection program under US Customs is intended to deter maritime attacks on containerized shipping of oil and the transport of goods within the international trade, which had become one of the targets of terrorists. The CSI is an innovative legal strategy for the purpose of preventing maritime attacks in the international arena (Romero 598). Under the CSI program, US Customs signed bilateral agreements with foreign governments that requires for the identification of high-risk cargo containers and initial screening of the subject containers which may contain terrorist weapons. The prescreening of the vessels starts at the port of departure rather than at the port of arrival. By using this innovative approach, the US was able to address the changing nature of international terrorism, particularly on maritime activities. The program bears a significant impact on law enforcement agencies and other non-traditional antiterrorism actors that are involved on the area of maritime shipping industry (Daniels & Direnzo 52).
The formation of CSI has opened the way for the formation of bilateral agreements under CSI are directly carried out by the US Customs agents in foreign countries to combat any forms or threats that may involve terrorist activity, rather than through designated parties under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs). While the purpose of the MLATs is to prevent maritime terrorism and to provide assistance in the prosecution of criminal activity through the cooperation of the contracting nations, the policies may only be carried out only by the designated parties of the MLATs. The CSI provides a more efficient means for establishing mutual assistance mechanisms that also enhances the reliability and accountability of the personnel under the programs and the entire security process (Romero 580).
Works Cited:
Daniels, Bill, and Direnzo, Joe, I.,II. “Maritime Anti-Terrorism at the Crossroads of National Security and Homeland Defense.” National Defense 89.615 (2005): 52-3. Romero, Jessica. “Prevention of Maritime Terrorism: The Container Security Initiative.”
Chicago Journal of International Law 4.2 (2003): 597-605.
Wilson, Brian. “Maritime Diplomacy”. The Journal of Commerce. Web. Retrieved on
March 26, 2015, from, http://www.joc.com/maritime-diplomacy_20090118.html.
