Ports and terminals are a significant part of the UK’s critical infrastructure, directly contributing almost US$14.3 billion a year to the UK economy. However, with the increasing threats of trespassing, vandalism, theft and terrorism from both land and sea, ensuring the security of a port’s border is becoming increasingly difficult. Ports represent a major point of vulnerability that could have a disastrous impact if breached, not only for the industry and businesses alike, but also human life. Port authorities are well aware that the first line of defence, the port’s perimeter, must be impenetrable.
From a security standpoint, there are many environmental factors that must be considered when analysing a port’s location and weighing up the resulting risk factors. Being exposed to the elements, such as wind, rain and fog can cause a number of difficulties when securing perimeters. Poor lighting, for instance, often means that identifying a breach, the precise source and cause can be difficult without the correct technology in place to overcome it. Defining where a perimeter begins and ends can also be problematic, with threats from the land and sea both posing very different challenges.
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