Threats and items
- Recognise weapons, explosives and improvised devices, and the signs that suggest them.
- Recognise the signs of stowaways, and of drug and people smuggling.
- Recognise suspicious behaviour — surveillance of the ship, testing of security, and attempts to gain information or access.
- Understand the threat of piracy and armed robbery and the ship's counter-measures in high-risk areas.
Beyond spotting the obviously out-of-place, the seafarer with security duties learns the signs of specific threats: the indicators of an improvised device, the hiding places and signs of stowaways, the concealment methods of smuggling, and the behaviour of people conducting surveillance or probing the ship's security. In high-risk areas the threat of piracy and armed robbery is met with specific counter-measures — hardening access, citadels, and the ship's security plan for such areas. The purpose is to detect the threat early and report it, so the ship can respond before an incident rather than after.
WARNING — Surveillance and 'testing' precede an attack People watching the ship, photographing it, probing its access, or asking unusual questions may be conducting surveillance before an attack or a boarding. This behaviour is recognised and reported — it is often the earliest warning.
TIP — Detect early, report, let the plan respond The value of recognising threats is early detection. The seafarer's job is to notice and report the threat so the ship's plan and the Ship Security Officer can respond, not to confront it alone.