Turkey: Ferry Hijacked, Hijacker Killed By Commandos

VOA reports Turkish Forces Kill Ferry Hijacker :

Authorities say Turkish commandos stormed a hijacked ferry Saturday and killed the lone hijacker.

Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters Saturday that the crew and passengers were all safe, and the identity of the hijacker is still being determined. Earlier reports said up to five suspected Kurdish militants armed with explosives carried out the hijacking.

The ferry Kartepe was carrying 18 passengers, including five women, along with four crew members and two trainees. It ran out of fuel Friday after sailing from Izmit and dropping anchor in the Sea of Marmara, where it was reported commandos boarded the vessel.

Turkish media reported that the ferry was traveling between Izmit and the town of Golcuk in Kocaeli province Friday evening when the vessel was seized by militants.

Maritime Security: GAO Report on Ferry Security

For your reading pleasure and comment:

Ferry Security

The best security force in the world is an informed and alert public.

NC Coastal Ferry bomb threat...

A bomb threat but no bomb found, as reported here:

A bomb threat found on a Knotts Island ferry early today halted service temporarily while bomb experts from Virginia Beach searched and cleared both vessels.

An employee found the bomb threat at 5:30 a.m. on the vessel Gov. Hunt written on what appeared to be piece of legal pad paper, said Randall Edwards, spokesman for Currituck County. The vessel Ocracoke was also cleared.

“No evidence of any type of bomb or bomb-making materials was found on either vessel,” Edwards said.

More on NC ferry system here.

Washington Ferries Security Plan

Reported here:

State ferry riders won't have to go through random searches of their vehicles or airport-style searches under the security plan officials sent to the Coast Guard yesterday.

But under a plan that relies on less-intrusive measures to deter terrorists, commuters may see bomb-sniffing dogs or have their license plates checked.

Coast Guard spokeswoman Jolie Shifflet said the state is proposing a unique plan that does not meet the letter of the new maritime security rules announced in October and that require a certain percentage of passengers be searched.

Washington State Ferries' plan would still pass muster if the Coast Guard determines it's just as safe as what was proposed. The Coast Guard has been working with the state, but has not yet received the plan. Shifflet did not know when the review would be finished. The plan has to be in place by July 1.

In coming up with the plan, the ferry system tried to find a balance between dealing with the threats in the post-Sept. 11 world, without hurting ferry operations or trampling on constitutional rights, said Gary Baldwin, the ferries' director of organizational strategy and human resources.

So instead of intrusive searches of cars, the Washington State Patrol would check car registrations. Instead of searching riders, the state would have bomb-sniffing dogs and other technologies on the ferries and at the terminals. Baldwin wouldn't elaborate on the other technologies.

Riders aren't likely to notice much of a change, he said.

"People are not necessarily going to see the dogs every day, and they'll probably see them in some locations instead of others."

Much of the plan was kept secret because of national security concerns. But the ferry system did make public the issue of searches. Random searches aboard the ferries were conducted after Sept. 11. They were abandoned last year because of cost and a low security threat.

Doug Klunder, privacy project director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, said, "We're happy that it's not all-out searches, but we're concerned about what is meant by screening" of license plates."

Perhaps it means that only thus-identified ACLU members will be subjected to full body and cavity searches. On every trip.

It would mean that in my perfect world.

Philippines: Possible ferry bomber arrested

Reported here:

A suspected bomb courier for the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines has been arrested, police said Friday.

Gino Musa, 19, was apprehended on a Manila-bound ferry that was docked in Cebu city after bomb-sniffing dogs detected explosives — a 90mm recoilless rifle projectile and a rifle grenade — hidden inside the sack of corn and bananas Musa was carrying, said Philippine National Police intelligence director Chief Superintendent Raul Castaneda.

Musa said he was unaware explosives were in the sack, which he claimed he was paid 400 pesos (US$8.50; €6.25) to take to Manila by a man he met at a port in southern Maguindanao province, Castaneda said.

Police charged Musa with illegal possession of explosives, he said.

Police have been on full alert for attacks by the Abu Sayyaf in the wake of a massive military operation against the group on two southern islands.

Philippines police also found a bomb on a bus shortly before it was set to explode, as set out here

Police discovered a bomb on a passenger bus in the Philippines' restive south 15 minutes before it was timed to explode and just hours after a blast in the area wounded at least 14 people, officials said Wednesday.

A powerful time bomb hidden under a concrete bench exploded in a crowded square in Zamboanga city late Tuesday, wounding at least 14 people, said Zamboanga city Police Director Sr. Superintendent Manuel Barcena.

The bomb, staged amid already-tight security in the city, may have been set off by the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group to divert the military's focus from the offensives on nearby Jolo and Basilan islands, Barcena said.

Later Tuesday, police found another device on a bus after its passengers disembarked at a crowded terminal in Pagadian city in nearby Zamboanga del Sur province, city police chief Oscar Buenaobra said.

The bomb, hidden in a powdered milk can, was found 15 minutes before it was set to explode, and an army ordnance team defused it, Buenaobra said.

The bomb was timed to explode at midnight, when the bus was scheduled to arrive at the terminal. The bus driver may have saved lives by arriving early, the police chief said.

Another bomber nabbed on a ferry on his way to cause mischief as set out here.:

Police on Wednesday arrested a suspected Abu Sayyaf bomber on a ferry in Cebu on his way to Metro Manila with “enough explosives to kill hundreds of people,” an official said yesterday.

The war against al Qaeda and its affiliates is underway in the Philippines, in case you hadn't noticed.

Maritime Security: The Ferry Watch

FBI swings into action in following up on some activity deemed "suspicious" by Washington State ferry crews, as set out here:

The FBI is asking for the public's help to identify two men who have been seen acting suspiciously aboard Washington State ferries recently.

The FBI released a bulletin late Monday, including photographs of the two men. One of the photos shows the men side-by-side and the other is a solo shot of one of them. They were snapped by a ferry employee who thought the pair acted suspiciously.

"They had more than the average interest in the working parts of the ferry, the layout of the ferry, the size of it -- more than you would see in normal passenger," said FBI spokesperson Robbie Burroughs.

The FBI says the men were seen on more then one ferry and more than one run over the past several weeks. They were also taking photos of parts of the boat, which the agents won't reveal, but that apparently aroused the suspicions of passengers and crew alike.

H//T: Jihad Watch

Not the first warning concerning the Washington State ferries, see here for the 2006 warning and here for the 2005 post-London bombing warning which contains this possible rationale for concern over the WS ferries:

"But it is best to be proactive as Washington is home to the largest ferry system in the nation and third largest in the world. We are also encouraging other passengers vessels to increase their security precautions and we encourage all citizens to be on the lookout for suspicious or unusual activity on or near our waterways," adds Garrett.

A reminder of things to look for along the waterways here.

UPDATE: More info here with a link to this article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Asked to specify the behavior, Gomez said: These two men "showed an inordinate interest in the operation of the shipboard systems as opposed to the beautiful scenery passing by." Gomez said he would not be more specific because to do so would alert potential terrorists on how to better mask their intentions.

The Seattle FBI -- which houses both bureau and interagency analytic centers -- has been tracking suspicious activity on ferries for several years. Last year, a Justice Department report named the Washington State Ferry system as the No. 1 target for maritime terrorism, sharing that status with Gulf Coast petroleum tankers.

Behind that dubious distinction was the work of the FBI's field intelligence group and the Washington Joint Analytic Center. Supervisory intelligence analyst Ted Turner of the Seattle FBI office told the Seattle P-I last year that "there was an extremely high likelihood, in a handful of incidents, that there was pre-operation planning" for a terrorist attack on the ferry system.

UPDATE2: Apparently the Post-Intelligencer decided not to run the FBI photos, as set out here, with, an explanation here:

But running a photograph of two men who may as easily be tourists from Texas as terrorists from the Mideast with a story that makes them out to be persons of interest in a terrorism investigation seems problematic, to say the least.

H/T: Bill Hobbs at NewsBusters. Perhaps the name of the Seattle paper refers to the type of thinking you get after you lose your intelligence.

UPDATE3: More at Fred Fry International, The Jawa Report, Atlas Shrugs, Michelle Malkin.