A multivariable technique for analyzing United States regional maritime risk

Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, there has been an unprecedented national focus on airport and airplane security, whereas much less effort and fewer resources have focused on the risk of maritime terrorism. This dissertation summarizes research done in development of a regionally based maritime risk assessment technique for the continental United States and Alaska. The purpose of the research was to develop a technique incorporating maritime homeland security indicators of vulnerability (attackability) and consequence (impact), using a data-based approach to evaluate comparative maritime risk. In the development of this technique, the researcher reviewed literature and maritime transportation system statistics that directly or indirectly addressed maritime terrorism and maritime risk. Evaluating the relative risk within America's regional maritime borders is both an important strategic consideration and an economic one. Ninety percent of the products brought into and out of the United States are carried within the maritime transportation system. This technique built on initial maritime risk techniques developed by the United States Coast Guard, including the Port Security Risk Assessment Tool (PSRAT) and the MSRAM (Maritime Security Risk Assessment Model), incorporating variables which had not previously been combined. During the process an Analysis of Variance test was conducted to evaluate the selected regions' statistical differences and to analyze the selected variables. The results showed significant (p < .05) differences among the regions and no statistical difference among the variables. The resulting assessment data were combined to determine an overall regional maritime security risk rating (RMSRR). The results of this study indicated that the Northeast and Southeast regions of the United States are the most at risk of maritime terrorism. This has major implications for policy makers allocating resources to protect the maritime environment. Modifications of this technique could provide a means for focused study of maritime risk and can be applied to different regions and intermodal transportation systems.