A terrorism alert system installed in thousands of merchant ships after the September 11, 2001 attacks is flawed because it does not immediately notify local security authorities of an attack, said a report on the system.
The Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) was unreliable and too slow to prevent an act of terrorism, said the report by the Singapore-based S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
"Acts of terrorism are executed with little or no time to organise preventive or mitigating actions, therefore every second is critical," said the report by security analyst Thomas Timlen.
The report said a ship mayday distress alert, which is globally monitored by maritime authorities, would generate a more rapid response to a terrorist attack.
Timlen said the SSAS was the "weak link" in a suite of anti-terrorism measures, such as tighter port security and tougher anti-piracy moves, implemented post 9/11.
The SSAS, which has been mandatory on merchant ships since 2004, sends a silent alarm when activated, but the alert is not sent to security forces in the vicinity of the ship.
Instead, the terrorism alert is first sent to the ship's owner, then passed to the ship's flag state, both of which could be on the other side of the world, and finally to authorities nearest the ship.
"A disadvantage is that the alarm is silent and I think they need to rethink that. Facing a catastrophic event we want as many people nearby to know," Timlen told Reuters on Wednesday.
ALERT DELAYS
Before security authorities are notified of an attack, the ship owner must first confirm the alert with the ship due to a high number of false alarms, and then the flag state decides which security body is notified, further delaying the alert.
"The initial stage of the process could take time to complete, during which time no one in the vicinity of the ship has any knowledge of a potential terrorist act underway," said the report.
