Maritime Security - Coursework Example

MARITIME SECURITY By Location Maritime Security Introduction Sea transport has been used for many centuriesfor transportation of goods and movement of people from one place to another. The continuous usage of water carried has attracted the need for security. Security issues like piracy, criminality, terrorism and border control have raised concerns to improve safety in the ocean. Especially the West African Region is facing piracy insecurities from hijackers and pirates. The roles and responsibilities of securing transport in the sea were being handled by the Navy (Sanders, 2014, p. 90). Regions that are bordering the coast on the west and east coast of Africa, Polar Regions and the Caribbean need high profile maritime security operation. The Navy has been maintaining the maritime security until recently when their activities are being downsized by the introduction of Private Maritime Organizations. Factors such as reduced spending on the military by armed forces in developed nations, availability of fewer people to enlist and smaller forces available for counter-piracy. In addition, increased use of military robots (UUVs, UAVs, USvs), concentrated in the Asia Pacific region and increased reliance on private maritime security companies to defend themselves will reduce the role and capabilities of the military in the future (Klein 2011, p. 23). The insecurities in the marine have increased in this current century more than the other centuries because of the technological advancement. Hijackers have advanced the weapons that they used to improve their piracy works. The Private maritime operations were seen to adapt quickly to having modern weapons to fight the terrorists and the pirates. It is one of the reasons as to why it has attracted many employers along the coast. For example, the West Africa region has suffered theft, and it has increased since 1990s. The hijacking of cargo is intense in the Bight of Benin in Lagos, Ivory Coast, and Gabon. The hijackers are usually targeting the ships that have petroleum goods and sell the stolen petroleum products at low prices. Kidnapping activities are intense to the South of the Niger Delta Region, in Bight of Bonny. Maritime security operations should be put in place so that the West region can be transporting the petroleum safely to the market. Nigeria’s economy depends on the oil sales (Klein 2011, p. 24). Therefore, there is much need to enhance security in the marine area to ensure safety and to reduce casualties in case is of an attack. Today, the PMOs are at the forefrontofgiving security to the navigators and to rescue the victims, although they are still working with the Navy. Accessed from, http://www.marsecreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Ghana-Oil-Boom-Raises-Piracy-Specter.jpg Potential roles of maritime military Even if the private military organization has reduced the Navy activities, the fleet is still important in maintaining security at the sea. It is because; countries that are bordering the ocean use it as a means to transport goods that are bulky. For example, in the west coast region, there is much dependence of water transport of goods from the country when exporting. The petroleum products are usually heavy and cannot be transported by air (Morison 2002, p. 130). Also, they are bulky and heavy; using the roads may not be economical. The tankers are efficient to use because they are economic and transport large volumes of petroleum products. If roads were being used, you could imagine how many transit vehicles will be on the road to carry oil products. There would be a serious traffic jam on the roads in West Africa like Nigeria, where they export many of these products. Also, the country will be spending more to export than the recovered profits. Therefore, since the water transportation is the most efficient, the maritime military should provide security at a range of 60 miles key points. The demand for maritime security is running through all coastal regions. Accessed from http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E4wwCL24QZM/UEdwdvGcPfI/AAAAAAAAP8E/5jBlvc2IAj8/s1600/GOG+West+Africa.gif The military should escort the tankers using marine vessels and aircraft forces. The monitoring will help keep off the kidnappers, and they will be able to act towards a rescue operation. The hijackers in West Africa coast are usually intelligent and organized. They have access to the full information about the destination and cargo details through hacking. The data security for the highly classified information should be secured from the hackers and eavesdroppers. Information leakages are the loopholes that cause much danger and insecurities in the ocean. The military has to outsmart their networks so that they can operate on a safe ground (Kraska & Pedrozo 2013, p. 712). Even though the PMOs are diminishing the Navy activities, they still have issues with the movement along the borders. Therefore, the Navy has the role of going before the tankers and ensuring that it is safe to continue the journey. Other than piracy, terrorism acts can also be felt in the ocean. The terrorists will kill and steal the goods. They can even bomb the ship, causing a lot of casualties. The security officers should survey the state of the ocean. If there is any leakage of insecurity, they should report to the port authorities so that the goods are not released. Below if the African map is showing piracy off the West African coast (Hong, 2012, p. 201). Accessed from http://defencesummits.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/piracy81.png The relationship with the Navy and the private maritime security companies The emerging PMOs have taken over security in the oceans. On the other side, it has led to decreased in Navy activities along the Coast of West Africa. PMOs have attracted many employers, for example, half of the ships transiting the Gulf of Aden are getting employment through the PMOs. This transition in maritime security has diminished the naval activities and has raised conflicts between the Navy and the private military companies. However, the navy cannot be completely downsized because their help is still relevant. For example, the rescue operation being carried from the Mediterranean Sea to save the migrants from drowning is being handled on a larger scale by the Navy. Also, the PMOs are facing strict laws on the basis of the UNCLOS rules and regulations over the water territories. The PMSCs in Iraq and Afghanistan has raised many questions on the transparency issue, and most are losing trust in their work (Hong, 2012, p. 222). The Navy has proven to be competent in their work and have helped to reduce piracy in West Africa especially in Nigeria. Due to the intervention of the maritime security organizations, the naval capabilities are decreasing. It is because the marine security have raised alarms internationally, on the platform of Operation Active Endeavour. It has highly participated in offering security along the Coastal region in Africa (Sanders, 2014, p. 90). It is because they are seen to be more effective in counter-terrorist actions in the marine. For this reason, the Navy operations are decreasing. Numerous threats to maritime security have arisen because claimant states used a lot of time to make their claims high and failed in their bid to control transnational issues. As a result, UNCLOS came up with a framework of cooperation in order to protect and conserve the marine environment and the marine scientific research. As well as the advancement and transfer of marine technology (Hong, 2012, p. 222). It helped to command the respect to the states that are disadvantaged by geographical locations and those that are landlocked. On the obligations that related to South China Sea on temporary arrangement, UNCLOS did not give specific interim plans. But also provided that cooperation and joint development are necessary on these obligations (Hong, 2012, p. 224). The security at the coast should be enhanced to reduce the number of deaths that are occurring in the seas and oceans. Security will attract more business people to operate along the coast peacefully. The country will enjoy having a stable economy system, and job opportunities will be available for the citizens. Even though the naval activities are reducing, the private maritime security organizations are taking the responsibility of the surveillance and offering security. Ways of improving the maritime military operation Since the pirates get smarter every day, the military need also to get quicker so as to control security. One of the ways to make the operations efficient is through establishing a strong combination network that is secured from hackers and eavesdropping (SANDERS, 2014, p. 112). The information about the cargo movements should be a secret. Once exposed to the enemies, they will organize themselves and hijack the ships that are transporting goods. The Navy should have trained personnel at all times. No risks should be left because the enemy can strike anytime. The hijackers undergo training to know how to fight because they are aiming at stealing the goods. The Navy should organize themselves well and have enough weapons that can fight the enemy. They should instantly update their weapons and stay on guard always. Below is an illustration of how the Maritime security operations have moved up the scale in their bid to beef up security. The Navy activities are still important, and that’s why they need to be improved. Accessed from http://www.esdpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Navy-C2-1.jpg Bibliography KLEIN, N. (2011). Maritime security and the law of the sea. Oxford, Oxford University Press. MCNICHOLAS, M. (2008). Maritime security an introduction.Burlington, MA, Academic.http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=243114. MORISON, S. E. (2002). History of United States naval operations in World War II 14, 14. Urbana, Univ. of Illinois Press. HONG, N. (2012). UNCLOS and Ocean Dispute Settlement: Law and Politics in the South China Sea. London: Routledge. KRASKA, J., &PEDROZO, R. A. (2013).International maritime security law.Leiden :MartinusNijhoff Publishers SANDERS, D. (2014).Maritime power in the Black Sea.Farnham, Surrey, Ashgate Publishing Limited. Read More