ABSTRACT
For all intents and purposes, large vessels such as these essentially become floating structures connected to port facilities by passenger gangways, cargo-loading equipment, fueling operations, and ancillary service networks. Potential threats to the vessel become threats to the port facility. Fire, on-board emergencies, criminal activity, even simple disturbances may pose a threat not only to the vessel and its occupants but to the interfacing terminal and port facilities. Thus, it is a necessary task for the Port FSO to ensure that vessel security and port facility security are synchronized and coordinated. From the perspective of the Port FSO, vessels in port represent another component of port infrastructure that must be protected. Distinct from port facilities, vessels have their own infrastructure, personnel, threat assessments, vulnerabilities, plans, and security considerations. To compound this, when vessels arrive in port, they must be managed via a terminal facility that, depending on port governance and organization, may have a distinct infrastructure and security-planning agenda. Considering the many activities that occur between the vessel and port, it is clearly apparent that high levels of coordination are necessary to effectively manage security for port-vessel operations.
