A Time Bomb for Global Trade: Maritime-related Terrorism in an Age of Weapons of Mass Destruction

"Richardson is adept at shunning turgid academic prose and crystallising the global debate on maritime terror into three broad themes. He paints the global picture, sketches how terrorists can circumvent current security measures and lastly, drops the 'bomb' -- a doomsday scenario where terrorists use nuclear weapons against a major world port. The first thing to grab the reader is the scope and depth of the research. Richardson's book should be widely read by policymakers and researchers as the issue of piracy and terrorism on the Malacca Straits becomes more pertinent" (The Sunday Times).

"Michael Richardson illustrates with dramatic clarity the vulnerability of the world's seaports, canals and waterways, and their adjacent cities, to the horrors of terrorist attack by the likes of Al Qaeda" (Taiwan Journal).

"Michael Richardson makes a cogent, credible and therefore greatly disturbing case that a terrorist attack by sea is a major risk. Richardson outlines terrorist plots that have been uncovered. He examines attacks that have been made at sea with ships packed with explosives. His judgement is sober, not alarmist (New Zealand International Review).

What is being done to counter threats of maritime terrorism and how effective are the safeguards?
           The author presents evidence that Al-Qaeda aims to disrupt the seaborne trading system, the backbone of the model global economy, and would use a crude nuclear explosive device or radiological bomb to do so if it could obtain one and position it to go off in a port-city, shipping strait or waterway that plays a key role in international trade.
           Improving maritime trade is especially important for the US and Canada, member states of the EU, Australia and New Zealand and for China, Japan and South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and other East Asian economies that have extensive direct seaborne trade. It is doubly vital for places like Singapore, Hong Kong and Rotterdam that are not only very large global seaports but also giant giant container transshipment hubs.
           This book discusses some major threats to seaborne trade and its land links in the global supply chain, their potential impact and the new security measures in place or pending for ships, ports and cargo containers, and recommendations for preventing or handling a catastrophic terrorist attack designed to disrupt world trade.
          
           TABLE OF CONTENTS
           Preliminary pages
           1. Trade, Terrorists, Shipping, and Cargo Containers
           2. Al-Qaeda's "Navy"
           3. A Maritime Terror Strike -- Where and How?
           4. Mega-Terror -- Radiological Nuclear
           5. Catastrophic Terrorism and its Potential Impact on Global Trade
           6. Costs and Benefits of Enhanced Security
           7. How Secure?
           8. Proliferation Security Initiative
           9. Sea Change and Recommendations
           Notes and References