Attention has been keenly focused on critical infrastructure security within the United States as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York, Washington, DC, and in the skies over Pennsylvania. Security has become the priority issue within the U. S. and action to address perceived shortcomings is resulting in unprecedented structural changes within government, business and the lives of private citizens. Laws have been enacted and are being proposed within Congress at a rapid pace which are designed to improve security for ports, vessels and facilities. Similar action will occur at the International Maritime Organization to ensure world-wide cooperation in the near future. This clamor for quick action is similar to that experienced in the months following the EXXON VALDEZ spill in March 1989 and the resultant Oil Pollution Act of 1990. A number of immediate requirements, such as the new 96-hour Notice of Arrival for ships, were implemented in the hours following the attacks. Like OPA 90, however, final implementation of the regulatory changes will require several years. This paper seeks to examine the baseline concepts of maritime security issues through a review of the elements in the threat equation and the concept of “Center of Gravity.”

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