al-Qaida May Attack Merchant Shippers

[Nambe]

http://www.kfwb.com/content.asp?STORY=/stories/B/BRITAIN_MARITIME_TERROR&groupName=AP%20Top%20International%20Headlines&LINEUP=LATESTWORLD&table1tabCount=6&table1tabOn=1&table2tabCount=6&table2tabOn=3&tabParams=%26table1tabCount%3D6%26table1tabOn%3D1%26ta">LONDON (AP)(link bad for Opera)

Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups are plotting attacks on merchant shipping, a senior British naval official was quoted as saying Thursday.

"What we've noticed is that al-Qaida and other organizations have an awareness about maritime trade," Adm. Alan West, the first sea lord, told Lloyd's List newspaper. "They've realized how important it is for world trade in general (and) they understand that significance."

"We've seen other plans from intelligence of attacks on merchant shipping," he said. "I can't give you detail on any of that, clearly, but we are aware that they have plans and they've looked at this."

The Ministry of Defense said it couldn't immediately confirm the accuracy of the quotes. It said it was "not aware of plans to attack merchant shipping. There is no clear or specific threat that we are aware of." ..

[oneighty]

1. That is what terrorists do.

Nothing is sacred, nothing. Everything and anything, even people might be a target most especially if financial damage results. The more financial damage the better. That is why the emphasis is on places and things that make money for the corporate pirates of the earths natural resources.
IMHO

180

[amber dog democrat]

2. It would be too easy for "pirates" to sieze freighters.

There would be pretty easy to do. Say a ship is boarded at night in the Java Sea by fast launches filled with well armed men who kill the crew and change the ship's appearance, registration and documents - and then operate it legitimately for a few years until its needed for some other purpose.

Who knows if this has not happened already?

[hadrons]

4. FHM of all mags did a story on modern-day pirates ....

nothing Jolly Roger about them; very brutal men

[amber dog democrat]

6. In some cases they are as bad as anyone can imagine.

I am against the death penalty but for piracy ? Let em " swing and sun-dry at the execution docks" There is no sanction or defense for pirates.

Its been a problem in certain parts of the world for years.

[Karenina]

11. Another tip-off that this "alert"

IS BOGUS!!! Piracy HAS been a serious concern for YEARS. And YES, ADD it has happened frequently enough already. All that's being done here is "branding" so the next high-profile company hit can holler, "TURRISTS!"

[amber dog democrat]

14. Do you trust this Admin to make you safe ?

I don't . I really think it is likely a frieghter - siezed and operating under false documewnts and changes to its appearance may well be able to get cargos and clear for say.... Longbeach, or Newport News Va, or one of the Great Lakes ports... and set something off in the Soo Locks.

All we need is another Condi Sleeza Rice quote saying :" who would have thought this would be able to happen ?"

It will be harder to sieze ships now with the improved secuity systems in place, but there may be as many as 20 already taken that are Al Queda owned and operated that are plying the trades and perfomimg llegitimate business even now.

[Karenina]

19. "Al Queda owned and operated ..."

I'm with you Amber Dog- just let me quibble here a bit. The NAME Al-Qaida is a TM fully owned and operated by the CIA. ;-) I say this to disabuse you of the notion that it is an "organization" structured in a way that your average Ami would understand. It is NOT.

[amber dog democrat]

20. I think you are absolutely correct...

We are not dealing with a sovereign nation, or in this case a real NGO or non state actor in any really organized sense. Things are so decentralized that I am remnded of the anarchists of the 1880s as well as the syndacalists and the European left of the 19th cent. They were not under any governing entity and loosley suscribed to a set of political and social beliefs.

this is more in line with chaos theory. If the truth were more widely known it would keep more Americans awake at night. There are loosly knit teams of bad guys out there who are out to do as much damage as they can... I see it more as a have vs have not sutiation and the war on the first world is symptomatic of the degree of dispair people have when there is no assurance of safe drinking water, shelter, employment or adequate food. The US is symbolic of the process that strip the developing world of its resources and relies on dictators to keep its people in check.

How can you be safe? How can you believe in the governtmental agencies to protect you?

Pardon my ranting. These are interesting times aren't they ?

[Karenina]

23. Yo Dog,

:yourock:

[haele]

10. One of the greatest terrorist threats that we have here in this country

can be the way this country handles security in its ports. As you say, a ship could be operated "normally" for several years, and then be used to ship some sort of contraband at "just the right time".

I, my husband, and many of my military friends regularly play the "if I were a terrorist, I would..." scenario game. Needless to say, in the majority of our scenarios, a well equipped, fully supported Coast Guard is one of the greatest defenses we have against terrorists bringing their infrastructure - be it drugs, illegal immigration/slavery, or WMD production - into this country.

To answer your last question - it probably has happened - several times over. All a pirate gang has to do is to create a legit manifest trail by operating a stolen ship through ports where security can be bribed for a couple years, then they can "sell" the ship to a front corporation and end up in US ports. There is no VIN number on most ships, and tracing engine parts to foreign flagged or foreign built ships that may have disappeared or been scrapped a couple years back is not something that may happen instantaneously.

Most maritimers will tell you straight up - "the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' is not just a Disney ride"...

Haele

[Bernardo de La Paz]

13. Only a Billion or so to Certify Containers at Port of Origin

It would cost only a billion dollars or so to set up the infrastructure to certify containers at the Port of Origin.

Even if it were two billion, that would be cheaper than a war against non-existent WMD.

[amber dog democrat]

18. I thnk its a matter of time before something like this happens.

The world is not as safe as we are led to believe. I read the marinar's piracy warnings and reports and there are whole coastlines that are best to be avoided for 100 miles out - Africa and South America plus the Indian Ocean and the China Sea all are danger spots. You are even advised to limit WT / Radio transmission. Pirates are not adverse to using RDFs to find you.

I am thinking a more compresensive provenance of ownership is going to be required and verified on vessels entering US ports. there are postings of missing ships with advisories that sometimes find stolen/ pirated ships in various ports to some degree of success. But is still seems hit or miss.

[LauraK]

3. al-Qaida May Attack Cyclists and Hybrid Vehicles.

No evidence, but they just might.

[amber dog democrat]

5. Don't forget Unicycles

I see a definate threat here too.

[legin]

7. Mmmmmm

I think the world fleet of oil carriers is about 1,500, that's just one commodity.

I could imagine that britain's merchant fleet could be numbered in the thousands.

So not really a good target unless Al-Quaida plan on taking out a couple of hundred in one go.

Seems like some people in britain are taking lessons from bush*'s phoney terror alerts, only instead of Godzilla movies it's WWII they are taking their storylines from.

I would guess that one of the properties of terror targets is that they are 'rare' targets, i.e. prime-ministers, Parliments, WTC etc.
In WWII the German nation as a whole spent 5 years pasting the merchant fleet without success so what luck is a tiny group of conspirators going to have. Not much of a PR coup either when all a government minister has to say is "OK, one down, 2,999 to go."

[legin]

8. One could guess

that the first sea lords remarks are more to do with the cuts that Hoon is making to the military as opposed to any real threat from Al-Quaida.

[amber dog democrat]

16. Can you see yourself , eye to the periscope, cap turned backwards

giving the OOD bearings and ranges as the targeting solutions are being setup for the torpedoes?

The Germans came closer to starving Brittian than most people know,( in 2 wars ), but I think a rouge freighter carrying WMDs is more likely a scenero -

[daleo]

9. Al-Queda's wolf packs will be prowling the North Atlantic

It turns out both Britain and the U.S. will need another couple of dozen nuclear attack subs to counter the threat!

[happyslug]

12. There are 85,000 ships on the seas in 1998

That measn Al Queda has better get busy and start sinking them.

Cite for number of ships on the sea:
http://www.ship.internord.ru/inform_e/gorin_e.html

338 Acts of Piracy in 2002:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1219_021219_tvpiracy.html

[fob]

15. Are we really supposed to believe this? Everyone knows one has to only

call "Parlay" and the pirates have to take you to safety.

[Minstrel Boy]

17. Raise the threat level to "Shiver Me Timbers"!

Say, is that a pirate flag, or are you just glad to have graduated Yale?

[NickB79]

22. LOL

Sweet.

[RememberWellstone]

21. Ohh geeez.

I bet we go to threat level peuter or mauve now.