Al-Qaeda's naval fleet

Al-Qaeda's naval fleet
Critics question whether Canada is prepared to deal with 'Osama's navy'
David Pugliese
The Ottawa Citizen
Wednesday, March 17, 2004

For more than a year, U.S. and British intelligence agencies have been trying to track 15 freighters said to be under the control of al-Qaeda and sailing somewhere in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The ships are similar in size to the vessel sailing into Vancouver harbour under the Lion's Gate Bridge.

They may only be a fleet of rusty freighters, but the ships, dubbed "Osama's navy" by defence analysts, send chills down the corridors of intelligence agencies in western nations.

For the last year and a half, U.S. and British spies have been trying to track the 15 freighters believed to be under the control of al-Qaeda and sailing somewhere in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The fear is that the vessels, thought to be currently used to transport weapons and equipment for the terrorist organization, could be turned into floating suicide bombs.

The result, according to one intelligence analyst, would be a "Madrid at sea," a reference to the alleged al-Qaeda attacks on the Spanish rail system that killed 201 people.

Last month, "Osama's Navy" was behind a security scare in Britain after a Scotland Yard memo was leaked to the media warning that al-Qaeda planned to sail one of the vessels, outfitted with a chemical or radiological bomb, and detonate it in an English harbour.

"These ships are not on the main sea routes, so it's difficult to detect them," said John Thompson, a terrorism expert with the Mackenzie Institute in Toronto.

Canadian government officials say they are aware of the intelligence reports about the al-Qaeda fleet. But defence analysts and members of the Senate question how prepared Canada is to deal with such a maritime threat.

A Senate report issued in October warned that Canada's coastlines, and even inland waterways, are open to potential attack since federal agencies are not properly equipped to deal with the problem.

The U.S. is taking steps to deal with the threat. In December, the Pentagon launched a series of classified reconnaissance satellites designed to track potential terrorist movements at sea. The new U.S. budget has also set aside $400 million U.S. for border and port security improvements.

In addition, the Coast Guard is requiring American ships using the country's harbours to fill out security plans in advance on how they would deal with a hijacking or attack. Last May, the U.S. Department of Defence and coast guard officials participated in an exercise, called "Impending Storm," which simulated various terrorist attacks using ships on U.S. coastal cities.

In Canada, the government is installing new surveillance radars on the east and west coasts. Fisheries Minister Geoff Reagan will also soon announce a $51-million contract with a private airline company to provide surveillance of coastal waters to deter illegal fishing.

But security analysts say the Martin government's clampdown on overfishing, while helpful, won't produce enough information about what is happening along the coasts or approaches to the country's harbours.

Defence analysts such as Mr. Thompson and York University's Martin Shadwick say for the time being it is likely that al-Qaeda would use its ships to move people and weapons. It is believed that an al-Qaeda vessel carried explosives used in the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 as well as the Bali bombing in 2002.

But Mr. Thompson noted that the vessels could be converted into floating suicide bombs in the future, although it would be difficult to move such a ship into a U.S. harbour because of the increased level of American security.

The vessels, smaller freighters registered in Somalia and Yemen, have escaped detection so far because they have stayed out of the main shipping lanes and their crews continually change their registration papers to mask their identity.

Another scenario that could pose more of a threat to western nations involves terrorists hijacking a fuel ship and detonating it in a port city.

In January, the Citizen reported that the U.S. was concerned that a terrorist attack could be launched from the Caribbean island of Trinidad using a liquid natural gas tanker. The U.S. Coast Guard has now stepped up security on selected ships heading from the island, a key supplier of natural gas to the U.S., to American ports.

Equally alarming has been a flurry of temporary ship hijackings in the Pacific. Some analysts have suggested the incidents could be training exercises for terrorists. In one case intruders took over a chemical tanker and practised operating the vessel before leaving the ship an hour later.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2004