Seafarers face terrorism threats in Red Sea and Malacca Straits, Part 1

Recent intelligence reports warn of a possible expansion of piracy into terrorism in two of the world’s major shipping bottlenecks. Even with this explosive information, sailors remain vulnerable as ever for putting their lives at risk on the front lines.

Surely after 9-11, suspension of belief is not needed to imagine a similar devastation on the water. If pirates can take down a supertanker over 800 miles offshore, imagine what a well financed, well organized terrorist group could do with a liquefied natural gas tanker (LNG).

As always, until a vessel actually becomes a target of opportunity for terrorists, and until a product carrier becomes a fire ball in a population center, expect the prevailing wisdom of maritime security experts to be skeptical.

Despite the prevalence of Somali piracy over the past few years, many security analysts have downplayed the possibility of organized terrorist groups joining the mix. After all, al-Shabaab, the Islamic extremist organization based in Somalia, operates well south of the major lanes funneling ships between Europe and points east. But recent reports ring a warning bell of al-Qaeda turning its eyes upon two of the world’s major shipping chokepoints by linking up with Somali pirate groups.

One of these chokepoints is the Bab al-Mandeb (BAM) Strait, which connects the Indian Ocean with the Red Sea and is the main trading lane between Europe and the Far East. About 20 miles wide at its narrowest point, it is logistically an inviting target to wreak havoc upon the 20-thousand ships and millions of barrels of oil passing through each year. Choking off the BAM would naturally cause a major disruption to the European oil market, potentially causing world energy prices to skyrocket.

An intelligence report cited in a New York State Office of Homeland Security newsletter says that an al-Qaeda cell based in Yemen known as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is in fact making plans to take over the BAM, with the partnership of al-Shabaab.

Said al-Shiri, a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay and the AQAP number two ranking official, warned in a released audio tape that the BAM will be blocked off in order to choke the economic throat of Israel.

While military analysts do not believe that terrorists could actually take over control of the BAM, the capability exists to cause major havoc upon commercial shipping. Abu Bakr al-Kurbi, the Yemen Foreign Minister, believes it is very possible that this could be done Somali pirate style, with ships being hijacked, or by attacking them with missiles.

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