Maritime Terrorism: Vancouver's SeaBus a target for terrorists?

The North Shore Outlook recently reported that terrorists on Canadian soil have “scoped out” Vancouver’s SeaBus as a possible maritime target in advance of the 2010 Olympics. Furthermore, the report stated that TransLink, the operator of the Sea Bus, may not be prepared for the potential threat. “The police and national security folks know that the bad guys have scoped out both the SeaBus and BC Ferries as possible targets,” Coun. Bob Fearnley wrote to then TransLink board member Mayor Richard Walton last March. “Can you imagine a fully loaded SeaBus during rush hour as a target? Very scary. My information is that (TransLink) don’t really have a workable plan for dealing with this sort of situation.”

In a previous note to stakeholders, including TransLink, North Vancouver RCMP, the Vancouver Port Authority and the Vancouver Police Department, Fearnley wrote: “A week ago a chap who has been involved in maritime security issues for a number of years … told me that the Port of Vancouver and in particular the SeaBus operated by TransLink is not properly prepared for a number of different emergency scenarios and in particular potential terrorist threats … leading up to the Olympics these would seem to be soft targets … a well planned bombing of a SeaBus … would be a huge potential loss of life, equivalent to the downing of an airliner.” More Info on the subject.