{
  "id": "RL33787",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORT",
  "number": "RL33787",
  "active": false,
  "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department, EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc462262/",
      "id": "RL33787_2008May14",
      "date": "2008-05-14",
      "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41",
      "title": "Maritime Security: Potential Terrorist Attacks and Protection Priorities",
      "summary": "This report outlines the key dimensions of maritime terrorism and how these dimensions may characterize specific attacks in the global maritime domain. The report illustrates credible maritime attack scenarios based on actual past attacks or potential attacks developed for maritime security exercises or other U.S. counter terrorism activities. It discusses the challenge to maritime security planners of facing a virtually unlimited number of potential attack scenarios and how certain federal programs address this challenge. It also reviews various perspectives on the overall likelihood of maritime terror attacks on the United States. Finally the report discusses implications for homeland security policy.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20080514_RL33787_e6f33b676fd674a0a4659f05e70df67ebf4f128b.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20080514_RL33787_e6f33b676fd674a0a4659f05e70df67ebf4f128b.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Territorial waters",
          "name": "Territorial waters"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Terrorism",
          "name": "Terrorism"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Marine accidents",
          "name": "Marine accidents"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Marine safety",
          "name": "Marine safety"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Defense policy",
          "name": "Defense policy"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Maritime law",
          "name": "Maritime law"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 348533,
      "date": "2007-05-14",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T18:08:23.578029",
      "title": "Maritime Security: Potential Terrorist Attacks and Protection Priorities",
      "summary": "A key challenge for U.S. policy makers is prioritizing the nation\u2019s maritime security activities among a virtually unlimited number of potential attack scenarios. While individual scenarios have distinct features, they may be characterized along five common dimensions: perpetrators, objectives, locations, targets, and tactics. In many cases, such scenarios have been identified as part of security preparedness exercises, security assessments, security grant administration, and policy debate. There are far more potential attack scenarios than likely ones, and far more than could be meaningfully addressed with limited counter-terrorism resources.\nThere are a number of logical approaches to prioritizing maritime security activities. One approach is to emphasize diversity, devoting available counter-terrorism resources to a broadly representative sample of credible scenarios. Another approach is to focus counter-terrorism resources on only the scenarios of greatest concern based on overall risk, potential consequence, likelihood, or related metrics. U.S. maritime security agencies appear to have followed policies consistent with one or the other of these approaches in federally-supported port security exercises and grant programs. Legislators often appear to focus attention on a small number of potentially catastrophic scenarios.\nClear perspectives on the nature and likelihood of specific types of maritime terrorist attacks are essential for prioritizing the nation\u2019s maritime anti-terrorism activities. In practice, however, there has been considerable public debate about the likelihood of scenarios frequently given high priority by federal policy makers, such as nuclear or \u201cdirty\u201d bombs smuggled in shipping containers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker attacks, and attacks on passenger ferries. Differing priorities set by port officials, grant officials, and legislators lead to differing allocations of port security resources and levels of protection against specific types of attacks. How they ultimately relate to one another under a national maritime security strategy remains to be seen.\nMaritime terrorist threats to the United States are varied, and so are the nation\u2019s efforts to combat them. As oversight of the federal role in maritime security continues, Congress may raise questions concerning the relationship among the nation\u2019s various maritime security activities, and the implications of differing protection priorities among them. Improved gathering and sharing of maritime terrorism intelligence may enhance consistency of policy and increase efficient deployment of maritime security resources. In addition, Congress may assess how the various elements of U.S. maritime security fit together in the nation\u2019s overall strategy to protect the public from terrorist attacks.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL33787",
          "sha1": "3b3bd7bb4dce8216075caad24a5180e5ef250f27",
          "filename": "files/20070514_RL33787_3b3bd7bb4dce8216075caad24a5180e5ef250f27.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL33787",
          "sha1": "af69e7737057784ab9ad4a8aaa5074e3995702d4",
          "filename": "files/20070514_RL33787_af69e7737057784ab9ad4a8aaa5074e3995702d4.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc812398/",
      "id": "RL33787_2007Apr26",
      "date": "2007-04-26",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Maritime Security: Potential Terrorist Attacks and Protection Priorities",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20070426_RL33787_42cc803c227c8e27371814151b9f8fb318d45abf.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20070426_RL33787_42cc803c227c8e27371814151b9f8fb318d45abf.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc808814/",
      "id": "RL33787_2007Jan09",
      "date": "2007-01-09",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Maritime Security: Potential Terrorist Attacks and Protection Priorities",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "filename": "files/20070109_RL33787_58dcd16ea7a7005b21852fc67396abcd6f4380ca.pdf"
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20070109_RL33787_58dcd16ea7a7005b21852fc67396abcd6f4380ca.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Economic Policy",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}