Policing in EU Seaports: Impact of the ISPS Code on port security post 9/11

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York and elsewhere in the USA in September 2001 (9/11), the attempted airline bombing by the shoe bomber in December 2001, and the subsequent attack on the French oil tanker the Limburg in October 2002, the issue of potential security threats was raised to the highest levels globally. In the case of the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, a UK born Islamic convert, boarded American Airlines Flight 62 from Paris to Miami with bomb material hidden in his shoes. He attempted to light a fuse but was restrained by passengers and crew until the flight landed in Boston. In the Limburg incident a dinghy carrying explosives rammed the tanker which subsequently caught fire and exploded. The measures introduced at airports worldwide are familiar as a response to 9/11 and the shoe bomber, but what is less well known are the measures taken by many countries to protect their shipping and port industries – the focus of this chapter.