MARITIME COUNTER-TERRORISM SERVICES
The threat posed by terrorists and criminals to shipping and offshore
installations is significant and well documented. Maritime assets
are easy targets for determined terrorists and the value of such installations,
vessels and their cargoes make them attractive not only to regional terrorist
and criminal groups but also to international organizations with aspirations
of disrupting the economic lifelines of the industrialized world. Every
year billions of dollars are lost by companies world-wide due to terrorism
and other forms of hostile interference.
Terrorists can develop effective attack capabilities relatively quickly
using explosives-laden suicide boats and light aircraft; merchant and cruise
ships as kinetic weapons to ram another vessel, port facility, or offshore
platform; commercial vessels as launch platforms for missile attacks and
underwater suicide-swimmers as well as unmanned underwater explosive delivery
vehicles to attack structures and vessels. Terrorists can also take advantage
of a vessel’s legitimate cargo, such as chemicals, petroleum, or
liquefied natural gas, as using a vessel to transport powerful conventional
explosives or WMD for detonation in a port or alongside an offshore facility. Some
of the major concerns to national security managers include, but are not
limited to:
- Terrorists hijacking a huge oil or gas tanker and exploding it in mid-sea
or in a major port in order to cause huge human, material and environmental
damage. There are an average of 60 attacks on oil and gas tankers by
pirates each year. This despite the stepped-up patrolling by the navies
of different countries. What pirates with no ideological motive and with
no suicidal fervour can do, ideologically-driven suicide terrorists can
do with even greater, ease.
- Terrorists hijacking an oil or gas tanker or a bulk-carrier and exploding
it or scuttling it in maritime choke points such as the Malacca Straits
or Panama Canal in order to cause a major disruption of energy supplies
and global trade. There are on average 50 attacks on bulk carriers by
pirates each year. Again, if the pirates can do it, so can the terrorists.
- Terrorists smuggling an improvised weapon of mass effect such as radiological
waste or lethal chemicals and biological agents in a container and detonating
it as the vessel carrying the container reaches a major port.
- Terrorists attacking a nuclear establishment or an oil refinery or
off-shore oil platforms.
- Terrorists hijacking a cruise liner or offshore installation and destroying
it mid-sea to cause mass human casualties.
Clearly, maritime terrorism and its consequences present a significant
risk to national infrastructure, businesses and individuals alike. Due
to its diversity of skills and contacts Primary Solutions Ltd is able to
offer a flexible, wide-ranging package of training, consultancy services
and products in order to protect companies and their staff from the host
of maritime terrorist and criminal acts that threaten them.
Specifically, our expert consultants and trainers provide comprehensive
and relevant practical advice and instruction, in IED threat surveys, bomb
threat management, blast mitigation and crisis management. These
are balanced - where necessary - with lectures and written work resulting
in a thoroughly concise yet comprehensive package. Training and consultancy
can take place in exclusive facilities within the UK or at the client’s
chosen location worldwide.
AVIATION COUNTER-TERRORISM SERVICES
Terrorist organisations are constantly
looking for new ways to launch attacks. Today, the aviation sector employs
127 million people world-wide, and accounts annually for revenues of
US $3.5 trillion, carrying 1.5 billion passengers and 28 million tons of
cargo in 20,000 commercial aircraft. Furthermore, with air travel
becoming an increasingly popular mode of travel, terrorists are increasingly
turning their attention to aviation terrorism, carrying out hijackings
and mid-air bombings, suicide attacks and stand-off weapon attacks
using RPGs and man portable air defence systems (MANPADs).
At a time when aircraft and airports face an imminent risk of being attacked
it is essential to maintain effective aviation security at all facilities
and to diligently undertake security processes to prevent aviation terrorism.
If aircraft and passengers, as well as property and people on the ground,
are to be protected, potential perpetrators of aviation terrorism have
to be prevented from breaching security checkpoints and gaining access
to secure airport areas and to aircraft. In the unfortunate event that
the terrorist succeeds, and is able to execute an attack on an aviation
target, suitable security and blast mitigation systems must be in-place
to minimise the effects.
Primary Solutions consultants are able to conduct
a risk assessment and deliver a detailed written report and verbal briefing
outlining the recommendations on the optimum physical and procedural
responses to mitigate the risks posed by IED attack against aviation
assets.
The breakdown of services includes:
- Conducting a comprehensive IED threat assessment to include:
- Who or what is the threat
- The likely choice(s) of weapon
- What are the most likely scenarios
or tactics for introducing an IED at or near the building or aircraft
- If an aviation asset is
likely to be a target for a subsequent terrorist attack, then what
the consequences of taking action are.
- Having identified the different potential threat scenarios, to then subsequently
identify the optimum physical security and other mitigation approaches
to:
- Minimize explosion impact (eg by use of barriers to increase stand-off
distance and limit access of vehicles to potential target areas)
- Mitigate or minimize the impact of explosions by addressing vulnerabilities
- Manage the post-attack response.
- Identifying state of the art physical security and blast mitigation systems
including:
- Vehicle and individual access control systems
- Shaping Walls (designed to focus explosive forces and deflect energy)
Reactive Walls (designed to react to explosives and counter-act explosive energies)
o Enhanced Survivability technologies that can enhance survivability
and facilitate emergency response in the aftermath of an explosive
event
- Multi-purpose Threat Mitigation strategies and technologies whose primary objective
is blast mitigation, but can also provide significant protection from
other, more frequent threats to populations and structures such as
fire and natural disasters (including earthquakes)
- Suicide Bomber Early Warning technologies that allow the operator
to identify—with a high level of confidence—a suspected bomber well in
advance of the explosive device detonation. Particular emphasis will
be placed on those technologies that provide standoff detection capability
of an explosive device
- Suicide Bomb and Bomb Component Detection solutions intended to identify—with
a high level of confidence—the existence of a bomb or its disassembled
components while in transit.
- Suicide Bomb Device Deactivation technologies that can defeat
a suicide bombing by deactivation of the explosive device. Particular
emphasis will be placed on those technologies focused on deactivation
the circuitry contained in the explosive device o Structural reinforcement
of existing building elements.
- Production and delivery of a detailed written report and verbal briefing
outlining the recommendations on the optimum physical and procedural
responses to mitigate the risks identified.
IED THREAT SURVEYS
A Primary Solutions IED threat survey includes a comprehensive IED threat
assessment incorporating asset penetration testing, a detailed risk analysis
of all possible attack scenarios and preparation of a functional security
programmed which includes where relevant: physical counter-measures,
detection, response and training.
BOMB THREAT MANAGEMENT
Primary
Solutions Ltd offers a comprehensive range of services concerning Bomb
Threat Management. These include responding to a bomb
threat, production of bomb threat procedures, search and IED awareness
training, bomb shelter procedures, staff response to a bomb threat, post
incident bomb scene management; IED threat briefings to high risk personnel;
IED construction and recognition; IED threat to corporate assets,
the terrorist IED threat; devices and the damage they do; dealing
with telephoned bomb threats; five plans for five possibilities; evacuation
procedures; the role of police and emergency services in an IED
incident; protection against flying glass and other debris; post incident
recovery planning and useful POCs and publications.
BLAST MITIGATION
The extent and severity of damage and injuries in an explosive event cannot
be
predicted with perfect certainty. Past events show that the unique specifics
of the
failure sequence for a structure significantly affect the level of damage.
Despite these
uncertainties, it is possible to give some comparatively accurate indications
of the overall level of damage and injuries to be expected in an explosive
event, based on the size of the explosion, distance from the event, and
assumptions about the construction of the building. Primary Solutions
Ltd – using qualified explosive engineers, is able to carry out
accurate blast assessments using a variety of technical mechanisms including
computer modelling and other scientific tools. The results from
these assessments are then used to develop mitigation systems capable of
reducing or eliminating long-term risk to people and property from explosive
devices and their effects.
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
When
targets do fall victim to the effects of crisis, disaster or hostile interference,
the most critical period can be the time taken to respond, take control
and restore normality to the scene. This
is especially the case where incidents have increasing economic as well
as national impact on the organisations involved.
An effective, well organised and prepared response can significantly mitigate
the effects of the disaster and could save lives, protect the environment
and minimise financial loss.
Primary Solutions Ltd, through its extensive experience in the field of
crisis management is able to offer a flexible, wide-ranging package of
training and services designed to protect companies and their staff from
the host of threats posed against them including: crisis & disaster
management planning; emergency services liaison planning; post disaster
security; hot sites (Temporary Operations Facilities); development and
audit of preparedness procedures; design and implementation of staff awareness
and training exercises; media management exercises; table-top (operational)
management exercises; case studies of real incidents and procedural reviews.
