Protecting the World’s Seas from Threats

Ships, people, and goods traveling the oceans and seas around the world need protection from various threats. According to Wikipedia maritime security is all about establishing order on the seas and oceans. While this order is usually maintained by governmental authorities there are also private businesses involved in these efforts.

There are many threats to good order on the sea. This can include piracy, human trafficking, illegal fishing, terrorism, dumping pollution, or tracking illicit goods. The organizations involved in this effort keep things working on the world’s oceans protect areas far offshore as well as ports and other ways of entering a nation. Piracy is a big issue on the seas. The big hot spots are off the coast of West Africa and Somalia as well as in the Southeast Asia region.

Piracy, of course, has been around about as long as people have traveled by boat. Pirates will commit violence on people on ships in the ocean in order to steal what they are transporting as well as sometimes the ships themselves. Over the years Viking’s were notable pirates as were the Sea Peoples of the Mediterranean. 9th century Asia had a huge piracy problem during the age of colonialism there was piracy throughout the world.

In recent years pirates have been romanticized, such as with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. The reality of what pirates did in the past and during the present is far from romantic, though. Many people have lost their lives to pirates over the centuries as they have been killed indiscriminately or thrown into slavery.

Maritime terrorism is something that has been taken much more seriously since 2004. It was after the 9/11 attacks on the United States that the International Ship and Port Security Code was ratified. Since that time there has been no large terrorist attack in any of the world’s oceans or seas. This includes ships, ports, fixed platforms such as oil rigs, tourist spots, or similar areas.

One of the organizations tasked with ensuring security at sea is the International Chamber of Shipping. This organization was created in 1924 and started consulting for the United Nations once that was created. There is also the International Maritime Organization, part of the UN, that secures ships traveling the seas and also prevents them from dumping pollution into the water.

There are many private American firms engaged in protecting people and assets at sea. A number of jobs can be found on the job’s website indeed at this link. Some of these jobs include paramilitary operations and security officers working for places such as the Central Intelligence Agency or Port Security Services.

These types of jobs are available throughout the coastal regions of the United States. Many of these jobs take place on land, monitoring what is happening in the oceans around the world or doing administrative work. Some of these jobs include security coordinator, maritime operational technology security specialist, embedded software engineer, corporate safety officer, and on-call terminal attendant.