India, with a vast coastal border of more than 7500 kms, covering nine coastal States and four Union Territories (UTs), faces considerably greater security issues and challenges than most countries. It is surrounded by hostile, often state-sponsored terrorists and individual militant groups of one kind or another – where the potential number of coastal & maritime targets is extremely large.
While large vessels fall under routine monitoring with the Automatic Identification System (AIS), millions more vessels especially small craft operate totally unmonitored. Based on information, there are at least 5 unregistered ships for every registered ship on the water today. These vessels can easily enter a harbor or port which in the wrong hands can cause devastating effects to critical infrastructure and loss of revenue in the 100s of millions.
The practicality of small crafts or vessels for use in a terrorist attack has been demonstrated time and time again. In October of 2000, while anchored in the Port of Aden, Yemen the USS Cole was attacked by an explosive laden small boat that caused significant damage and severe loss of life.
India suffered a more audacious assault when terrorists were able to bypass security and carry out attacks in the port city of Mumbai in 2008, which claimed hundreds of casualties.
Security forces have identified maritime and port security as one of the greatest threats facing the world today. Not being able to effectively monitor the coastline and especially critical infrastructure such as ports could have devastating effects on the vital commercial lifelines and general overall economy of a nation. Recent bold attacks by militants at key tourism ports in Kenya have severely impacted a major revenue earner for this developing African nation.
The cost of surveillance and the monitoring of all incoming traffic pales in comparison to the cost of a successful terrorist attack. This year the United States, for example, has set aside 100 million dollars in grants to provide for better security for the country’s ports by providing a comprehensive set of measures authorized by the US Congress and implemented by the Administration to strengthen the Nation’s critical infrastructure against risks associated with potential terrorist attacks.
There are 12 major ports and around 200 minor ports in the country. The 12 major ports are International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) compliant and are subject to security audit once in two years. However, there is no such mechanism of security audit for the non-major ports. Apart from the 12 major ports, 53 minor/non-major ports and 5 shipyards in the country are to become ISPS compliant.
