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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: James F. Hopkins who wrote (43859)	11/3/2001 11:55:52 PM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

I follow that back....Thanks Wondering which port they would go for..... Miami Calif NY..... I just hope and pray neither......they are getting to be spread pretty thin in this home security thang. dealie

To: James F. Hopkins who wrote (43859)	11/5/2001 12:21:25 AM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

Coast Guard steps up security at seaports Armed 'sea marshals,' seagoing escorts aim to thwart terrorism -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Knight Ridder/tribune Originally published November 4, 2001 WASHINGTON - The Coast Guard said Friday that it is sharply heightening its vigilance at the nation's 361 public seaports out of concern that terrorists might slam a ship into a suspension bridge or sink one to block a key shipping lane. Armed "sea marshals" are boarding ships as they enter and leave two busy harbors in California - San Francisco and San Diego - and Coast Guard cutters are escorting vessels that might be converted into potential weapons, said Adm. James Loy, the Coast Guard commandant. "Any given ship in the hands of the wrong guy has some potential to do us harm," Loy told reporters at a briefing. The Coast Guard now requires crew rosters and cargo manifests 96 hours before ships enter U.S. ports, instead of the 24 hours previously demanded. Incoming vessels are ranked according to the damage they might do. Counter-terrorism authorities fear that terrorists will attack a ship, such as an ocean liner with thousands of passengers aboard, or seize one, such as a propane-laden tanker docked at a vital seaport, and use it as a weapon. They also worry that terrorists might sink a ship in a sea lane to halt a major seaport's traffic or use a ship to fell a bridge. That scenario was underscored Thursday when California Gov. Gray Davis warned that the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and three other California suspension bridges might be in the sights of terrorists. Democratic Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, described information about possible attacks as "alarming but nonspecific." "They tend to be in the boastful category about what people are going to do in a generic sense as opposed to a specific when, where and how," he said. Nonetheless, Graham cited the "stark vulnerability" of the nation's seaports. He said there were no federal guidelines on port security. And a jumble of local, state and federal agencies share jurisdiction over U.S. ports, making it harder to protect them. Graham, who attended the seaport security briefing, is co-sponsor of a Senate bill to enhance federal security at seaports, allot $168 million for new technology to monitor the 16,000 or so containers that enter U.S. seaports on average each day and provide $145 million for 1,500 new customs inspectors. The bill could be taken up in the full Senate next week. The bill also would order Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta to identify the nation's 50 most vital seaports within 30 days and order federal agencies to share data on any threats to them. The list would be based on the volume and value of trade and on strategic interest, such as whether the ports provide access to military facilities or oil refinery complexes. The top 50 American seaports account for 90 percent of U.S. maritime trade, Graham said. Commercial sea traffic is so vital to the U.S. economy, experts say, that disrupting shipping would do terrific economic damage. "One out of every five dollars of our [economic output] is based on international transport of our goods," said Chris Koch, president of the World Shipping Council, a trade association based in Washington that represents companies that move more than 90 percent of U.S. seaport shipping. Loy said the Coast Guard is working closely with the Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service to study crew rosters and cargo manifests. "We now have the 96 hours to scrub as best as we can the information available in respect to the crew on board," Loy said. Cargo manifests also are closely studied, he said. The overlapping data about vessels, crew and cargo can be examined to help identify levels of danger, he said. "If there are 10 ships approaching Savannah today, which of those really deserves the scrub-the-bare-metal attention that we want to make of it as we patrol its movement?" he asked. "If it's full of liquid natural gas and going to Boston's terminal, that's a very different issue than just a bulk carrier carrying grain." The key, Loy said, is to identify "a rogue ship floating through the port of - you fill in the blank, whether it's New York harbor, whether it's Boston ... whether it's San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge," and halt it before disaster strikes.