Article

2010-02-10 Science & Technology

Maritime Security: The Very Sort of Proliferation We Don't Need

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by tu3031 2010-02-10 12:32|| || Front Page|| [3 views ] Top

#1 Frightening, especially since cargo container theft is up and Iran has test-fired off ships previously.

Posted by Lumpy Elmoluck5091 2010-02-10 12:52|| 2010-02-10 12:52|| Front Page Top

#2 The article reads like an ad for defense contractors of various sorts. AFAICT, it would be a trivial exercise to pack a ship with dirty bomb materials & detonate upwind near a key seaport, &/or smuggle all sorts of nasty stuff over the southern border, mixed in with all the illegal drugs we have an insatiable desire for. Or simply burn a ship full of NH4NO3. (Wikipedia) Once NH4NO3 has started to decompose then a runaway reaction will normally occur as the heat of decomposition is very large. The compound evolves so much heat that this runaway reaction is not normally possible to stop. This well-known hazard is responsible for the loss of several cargo ships. The US needs more than missile defense.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-02-10 14:37|| 2010-02-10 14:37|| Front Page Top

#3 Article: LA ports add ship to screen for biological weapons Feb 10, 3:39 PM (ET)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A new ship to detect chemical and biological weapons has been launched to protect the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said Wednesday it started using the $3 million vessel this week. It is staffed by explosives experts and equipped with tools to screen cargo ships for threats before they enter the nation's busiest port complex.

The experts board the ships and screen for substances used for weapons of mass destruction. Deputies have also added a helicopter to screen for radioactive material, while the ship's sonar system looks for underwater threats.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-02-10 18:57|| 2010-02-10 18:57|| Front Page Top

23:45 crosspatch
23:35 rjschwarz
23:32 crosspatch
23:30 rjschwarz
23:27 ~~War On Terror~~
23:27 eltoroverde
23:10 Don Vito Uleash
22:47 trailing wife
22:42 Whiskey Mike
22:35 Frank G
22:25 JosephMendiola
22:24 trailing wife
22:23 JosephMendiola
22:08 JosephMendiola
22:06 Pappy
22:02 JosephMendiola
21:55 lotp
21:40 badanov
21:30 Bobby
21:15 badanov
21:12 JosephMendiola
21:11 Skunky Glins****
21:10 Frank G
21:09 tipover