Smart Port community lunch meeting June 26th 12.00-13.30 T03-42

A Sense of Port Security

For this Smart Port Community Lunch, Dr. Ir. Martijn Clarijs (TNO) and Drs. Yarin Eski (TNO/Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research) will raise the complexity of securing the port environment post 9/11. In our presentation we shall explain reasons of heightened maritime, and specifically, port security since the attacks of 9/11. The International Ship and Port Facility (ISPS) Code was introduced after these attacks, and key aspects of this piece of international legislation, as laid down by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), shall be reflected on. Crucial for this seminar is to point out and grasp the “(non)sense” of the current status quo of port security. Besides terrorism, several other areas of crime and insecurity, such as drugs trafficking and environmental pollution continue to reoccur in the port environment. To which extent are these insecurities covered by the ISPS Code? Moreover, perhaps more importantly, which unforeseen and negative effects have come forward from the ISPS Code? Does the ever-growing body of security initiatives, policies and praxes solve issues and reach its purpose of creating a safe and secured port? How relevant is (technological) innovation for port security solutions? Why do certain port territories tend to be forgotten, or at the very least, are not covered by technological innovations that seem promising enough? Key to finding the answers here is to discover and demarcate the stakeholders involved in port security.

The discussion will be moderated by Rob Zuidwijk (ESPR) after a brief comment on the involvement of ESPR researchers in port and maritime security projects.