By the time it gets here, it's too late.

Contact your Government Officials about the need for a Prior-to-Port Security Solution Click Here

RAND Report - Considering the Effects of a Catastrophic Terrorist Attack

2006
In recent years, there has been a growing concern that targeted acts of terrorism, focused on critical economic infrastructure, could produce cascading social and economic effects on a very wide scale. The authors carry out a scenario analysis and strategic gaming revolving around a catastrophic terrorist attack on the Port of Long Beach. The authors describe the results from this investigation and provide many of the primary results from the analysis in the appendixes. The analysis tools developed by the authors for this study lay the groundwork for research exploring both the short- and long-term effects of catastrophic events. The need is pressing to continue such investigations, particularly of longer-term economic repercussions. This work would entail developing scenarios for a new generation of strategic games. The overarching goals would be to gain insight into the decision landscape in the months following attacks of this magnitude with a focus on identifying where existing systems are likely to fail and evaluating the benefits of a range of potential economic policies. With these types of tools, policymakers could start to anticipate the types of decisions they might be called upon to make, reflect in times of relative calm on their options, and plan well in advance for contingencies. Read More

RAND Report - Maritime Terrorism Risk and Liability

October 16, 2006
Policymakers have become increasingly concerned in recent years about the possibility of future maritime terrorist attacks. Though the historical occurrence of such attacks has been limited, recognition that maritime vessels and facilities may be particularly vulnerable to terrorism has galvanized concerns. In addition, some plausible maritime attacks could have very significant consequences, in the form of mass casualties, severe property damage, and attendant disruption of commerce. Understanding the nature of maritime terrorism risk requires an investigation of threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences associated with potential attacks, as grounded both by relevant historical data and by intelligence on the capabilities and intentions of known terrorist groups. These risks also provide the context for understanding government institutions that will respond to future attacks, and particularly so with regard to the U.S. civil justice system. In principle, civil liability operates to redistribute the harms associated with legally redressable claims, so that related costs are borne by the parties responsible for having caused them. In connection with maritime terrorism, civil liability creates the prospect that independent commercial defendants will be held responsible for damages caused by terrorist attacks. This book explores risks and U.S. civil liability rules as they may apply in the context of these types of attacks. Read More

Port Security War Game - Implications for U.S. Supply Chains

October 2-3, 2002 by Booz / Allen / Hamilton
A strategic simulation of a terror attack designed to assess the vulnerability of America's cargo transportation system and supply chains found that such an attack could cripple global trade and have a devastating impact on the nation's economy. Click Here

Cargo on the Move Through California: Evaluating Container Fee Impacts on Port Choice

July 28, 2006 - Energy and Environmental Research Associates, LLC - Container fee impact on state trade to be minimal
New study reveals ships would still continue to prefer California ports
A newly completed study by two maritime transport and energy experts (Cargo on the Move Through California: Evaluating Container Fee Impacts on Port Choice; by professors James Corbett, University of Delaware, and James Winebrake, Rochester Institute of Technology) found that a container fee at California's three largest ports would have minimal to no impact on business. Most significantly, the study finds that a $30 container fee at the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports would not adversely affect business. Click Here
Would only cost consumers pennies per item. Click Here

Terrorist Nuclear Attacks on Seaports: Threat and Response

CRS Report for Congress
January 24, 2005
A terrorist nuclear attack on a U.S. seaport could cause local devastation and affect the global economy. Terrorists might obtain a bomb in several ways, though each poses difficulties. Ability to detect a bomb appears limited. The United States is using technology, intelligence, international cooperation, etc., to try to thwart an attack. Issues
for Congress include safeguarding foreign nuclear material, mitigating economic effects of an attack, and allocating funds between ports and other potential targets. Read More

Port and Maritime Security: Potential for Terrorist Nuclear Attack Using Oil Tankers

CRS Report for Congress
December 7, 2004
While much attention has been focused on threats to maritime security posed by cargo container ships, terrorists
could also attempt to use oil tankers to stage an attack. If they were able to place an atomic bomb in a tanker and detonate it in a U.S. port, they would cause massive destruction and might halt crude oil shipments worldwide for some time. Detecting a bomb in a tanker would be difficult. Read More

Nuclear Terrorism: A Brief Review of Threats and Responses

CRS Report for Congress
September 22, 2004
It would be difficult for terrorists to mount a nuclear attack on a U.S. city, but such an attack is plausible and would have catastrophic consequences, in one scenario killing over a half-million people and causing damage of over $1 trillion. Read More

Port and Maritime Security: Background and Issues for Congress

CRS Report for Congress
December 5, 2003
This report provides background information and discusses potential issues for Congress on the topic of port security, which has emerged as a significant part of the overall debate on U.S. homeland security. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 heightened awareness about the vulnerability to terrorist attack of U.S. ports and the ships in them. The issue for Congress is providing oversight on port security and proposals for improving it. Port security legislation can have significant implications for public safety, the war on terrorism, the U.S.
and global economy, and federal, state, and local homeland security responsibilities and expenditures. Read More

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