ABSTRACT
This chapter is an introduction and familiarization with some of the general and specific security challenges faced by port management, operations staff, and Facility Security Officers (FSOs). Ports are unique environments in that they provide the interfaces between the global maritime trade, transportation networks, and a wide spectrum of facilities and geography. It is this diversity of infrastructure, economics, politics, and function that differentiates security operations in ports from that in other forms of transportation and industry. Consider the challenge facing the port facility with respect to whom and what will be admitted into the port’s restricted areas. At the port illustrated in Figure 3.1, the security staff must contend with an assortment of break-bulk cargo being transported by truck into the port for export. What might be in those sacks? Rice? Sand? Hazardous materials? Narcotics? Improvised explosive devices? What does the manifest indicate as contents? Is the vehicle itself a threat? Is the driver? Can the security inspector effectively screen this shipment manually? What threats may be posed to this employee, this port, the vessel onto which the sacks will be loaded, and the port of destination? In considering these questions and issues, management and staff must have a broad foundation for understanding the scope and magnitude of potential threats to seaports. What are the general and specific challenges existing in the operational environment? Developing a practical appreciation for the organizational constructs of threats is a precondition for implementing management approaches for the security challenges in the port environment.
