• PORT SECURITYShoring Up Ports to Withstand Cyberattacks

    By Jeff Seldin

    There are more than 300 ports in the United States, employing an estimated 31 million Americans, and contributing about $5.4 trillion to the country’s economy The White House is moving forward with reforms aimed at shoring up cybersecurity at U.S. ports, some of which may already be in danger of falling under the sway of hackers linked to China.

  • SUPPLY-CHAIN SECURITY5 Technologies Keeping Cargo Ships Safe in Turbulent Times

    By Abigail Klein Leichman

    Due to Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, worldwide shipping is in trouble and the global supply chain faltering. These technologies can help.

  • SUPPLY-CHAIN SECURITY'Separate' They Stand: Despite Iran's Support, Houthi Rebels' Independence Gives Tehran Cover

    By Michael Scollon

    While the Huthis are using an arsenal of Iranian weapons to wreak havoc in the Red Sea and are considered part of Tehran’s “axis of resistance,” the Yemen-based rebel group does not necessarily follow Iran’s commands.

  • AFRICAN SECURITYEthiopia and Somalia: Conflict Intensifies Over Port Deal

    By David Ehl

    Ethiopia’s agreement with breakaway region Somaliland, seeking port access in exchange for potential sovereignty recognition, could cause upheaval in the Horn of Africa. Somalia views it as an attack on its sovereignty.

  • CYBERSECURITYBringing Better IT Security on Board

    Cyberattacks on industry and critical infrastructure are on the rise across the globe. Targets also include ships, which, by transporting billions of tons of goods around the world each year, form part of international supply chains — yet their on-board IT systems often lack secure protection.

  • LIGHTHOUSESDHS to Stabilize Its Historic Lighthouse on Plum Island

    DHS S&T is leading a project aiming to stabilize the historic Plum Island Light Station. The lighthouse was constructed in 1869 and put into service in 1870. Plum Island, New York, is located approximately 1.5 miles from the eastern end of Long Island’s North Fork. The island is wholly owned by the DHS and primarily serves as a secure location for DHS S&T’s Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC).

  • FLYING BOATSElectric Flying Boat Could Transform Traveling

    By Håvard Egge

    A Norwegian company is now developing a small electric seaplane that can transform passenger traffic on a large scale. With this seaplane you will be able to take off from Trondheim Fjord or Flesland Airport in Bergen, Norway, and land in the Geiranger Fjord one hour later.

  • PiracyPiracy, Armed Robbery Incidents on the High Seas Decline, but Threats Remain

    The first nine months of 2021 saw the lowest numbers of piracy and armed robbery incidents on the high seas since 1994. While the reduction of reported incidents is a welcome, the International Maritime Bureau warns that seafarers must remain vigilant as violence against crew remains high in many areas of the world.

  • Port securityFurloughed Port, Airport Workers Could Be Targeted by Organized Crime

    The U.K. National Crime Agency has issued an alert to furloughed port and airport workers warning they may be vulnerable to organized crime groups seeking to exploit the Covid crisis. The alert warns that as global restrictions on the movement of people and goods are further relaxed, staff who have a detailed knowledge of controls and processes around the border could be targeted.

  • Supply chain securityWhy You Should Expect More Suez-Like Supply Chain Disruptions and Shortages at Your Local Grocery Store

    By Nada R. Sanders

    When the Ever Given container ship choked off traffic in the Suez Canal for almost a week in late March 2021, it made big headlines around the world. Yet many people I spoke with, including students and professional colleagues, didn’t seem to have a clue about what was happening, why it mattered or how it affects them.

  • Maritime securitySuez Canal Container Ship Accident Is a Worst-Case Scenario for Global Trade

    By Rory Hopcraft, Kevin Jones, and Kimberly Tam

    It’s estimated that 90 percent of the world’s trade is transported by sea. As consumers, we rarely give much thought to how the things we buy make their way across the planet and into our homes. That is, until an incident like the recent grounding of a huge container ship, the Ever Given, in the Suez Canal exposes the weaknesses in this global system.

  • Maritime securityGulf of Guinea Piracy: A Symptom, Not a Cause, of Insecurity

    By Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, Timothy Walker, and Denys Reva

    Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea appears to be worse than ever, judging by recent headlines. But these accounts and the data they rely on must be approached with caution. Figures on piracy and armed robbery at sea are susceptible to under-reporting and problems of definition. Over-hasty responses could lead to narrow solutions that fail to solve the underlying causes of maritime insecurity.

  • Cargo securityTackling Cargo Shipping Security

    Each day, thousands of containers travel the globe. Security agencies need to ensure the cargo that originally was shipped in them is what is in them when they reach their destination. Harmful or illegal content, added after the cargo was cleared for transport, must be detected and intercepted. Securing the global supply chain, while ensuring its smooth functioning, is essential to U.S. national security.

  • TransportationDriverless ferries to replace footbridges

    By Unni Skoglund

    As towns grow, the need arises for more river and canal crossings. But bridges are expensive and hinder the flow of boat traffic. An autonomous and self-propelled passenger ferry that can “see” kayakers and boats, and that shows up right when you need it, could be an ingenious substitute for footbridges. Soon the prototype for the world’s first driverless electric passenger ferry will be ready to launch in Trondheim, Norway.

  • CybersecurityWhy 50,000 ships are so vulnerable to cyberattacks

    By Keith Martin and Rory Hopcraft

    The 50,000 ships sailing the sea at any one time have joined an ever-expanding list of objects that can be hacked. Cybersecurity experts recently displayed how easy it was to break into a ship’s navigational equipment. This comes only a few years after researchers showed that they could fool the GPS of a superyacht into altering course. Once upon a time objects such as cars, toasters and tugboats only did what they were originally designed to do. Today the problem is that they all also talk to the internet. The maritime industry is undoubtedly behind other transportation sectors, such as aerospace, in cybersecurity terms. There also seems to be a lack of urgency to get the house in order. So the maritime industry seems particularly ill-equipped to deal with future challenges, such as the cybersecurity of fully autonomous vessels.