The United States government has been extremely cautious about the security of citizens since September 11, 2001. An attack that happened that day has changed the perspective on the terrorism, and it is now acknowledged as a global threat. The government has become aware that the security of all kinds of transportation may be breached, and it could be dangerous for the overall safety of U.S. citizens. The government has been taking necessary measures to prevent these types of attacks from happening such as The Patriot Act that is effective since October 26th, 2001.
Ocean shipping was one of the least protected areas and it such weakness could be used by terrorist organizations to transport personnel and weapons. The fact that cruise ships can be an object of attack is also an area of concern. The U.S. government has put a lot of effort into increasing the overall safety of this method of transportation.
The way ship and port operations are performed was been changed. Numerous government agencies are able to monitor this area to prevent any possible incidents. The analysis of information about shipments is performed by The United States Customs and Border Protection agency. However, it used to be unable to inspect all the containers and container ships were extremely vulnerable. The former United States President George W. Bush has signed the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 to address the issues of port security. The government still makes changes to the law to increase the safety of the citizens. Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 was signed to increase the Federal powers of The United States Coast Guard. Alexander and Richardson (2009) state that after the attacks “America and its international partners have developed a container security initiative for ports – an initiative to establish pre-loading container inspection procedures and protocols” (p. 306). This means that other countries are ready for cooperation when it comes to prevention of terrorism.
These terrorist attacks have had an enormous impact on the overall economic situation in the country and enterprises have started making changes to their strategies. The first reaction of insurers was to reduce the coverage because private companies are not capable of managing such large risks. The overall cost of premium coverage was also dramatically increased. Most of the businesses have suffered huge losses following this catastrophe, and they were unable to set correct prices of such coverage and decided to exclude support for these kinds of risks. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act was signed in 2002 as a way for public to gain compensations in case of terrorist attacks. This was the most helpful for shipping companies that were not able to get insurance against such incidents. Many insurance providers have seen it as a way to gain profit and nowadays there are numerous businesses that offer ship security coverage.
In conclusion, the terrorist attack that happened on September 11, 2001, has impacted the whole world. The United States government and international partners were able to develop a set of measures that would significantly reduce the risks of such incidents happening again. The safety of all kinds of transportation has been dramatically increased, especially of ocean shipping because it used to be highly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Insurance providers have adapted and made changes to their services as a response to the catastrophe to prevent possible losses. Overall, this incident has had a huge impact on ocean shipping.
References
Alexander, Y., & Richardson, T. B. (2009). Terror on the high seas. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger Security International.