Terror ships: keeping them off our lakes

It's a chilling thought.

Foreign vessels slipping past Sault Ste. Marie and countless other cities in the dead of night.

The possibility of a ship-launched terror attack is far from imaginary, officials say.

As the 2002 shipping season got underway this week on both the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, authorities on both sides of the border were announcing joint initiatives to thwart inland marine terrorist activity.

'The threat is real,' Coast Guard says

"The threat is real," the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement released today.

"The events of September 11, 2001 demonstrated the need for increased security measures to protect our waterways.

"Every ship that transits our waters passes critical infrastructure and large population areas. Both countries are working together to provide maximum security, while minimizing disruption to commercial shipping," the Coast Guard statement said.

What they're doing about it

The Canadian and the U.S. governments have jointly launched a cross-border, multi-agency program to share intelligence about potential marine threats, and also to increase security boardings on foreign commercial ships entering the Seaway and Great Lakes.

Tonight's Sault (Michigan) Evening News quotes U.S. officials as saying that the special security patrols introduced last year on the St. Mary's River will be back this spring. Speaking this week in St. Catharines at a ceremony marking the official opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway's 2002 navigation season, Canadian Transport Minister David Collenette announced that all ships entering the St. Lawrence Seaway must now give 96-hour advance notification of arrival to both Canadian and U.S. officials.

Canadians responsible for boarding suspect vessels

U.S. Coast Guard officials said that any ship failing to give notice or providing incomplete notice will be stopped from entering the Seaway.

"The U.S. Coast Guard and the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency special analysis units will conduct initial screening of the ship’s information and submit the crew and passenger list to a centralized information center to review for any potential threats," today's Coast Guard statement said.

"If a potential threat is identified, the ship will be boarded for a security review by a team of personnel from Canadian agencies before it enters the Seaway and the Great Lakes.

"These boardings are in addition to random boardings and other security measures already in place," the Coast Guard said.

Agencies involved

Agencies involved in creating the new marine counter-terrorism program include Transport Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., U.S. Customs, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the U.S. Consul General’s Office in Montreal.

In the December 2001 budget, the Canadian Government set aside $60 million to protect ports and other critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks. The money was also to be used to increase intelligence-gathering capabilities to screen for terrorists, weapons and explosives.

Local police

Other measures include increased security patrols and surveillance, as well as improved liaison with local police and U.S. authorities.

Said Transport Minister Collenette: "The updated procedures now in effect will be reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure they reflect new and emerging realities."

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