The Swedish Port Security Network - An Illusion or a Fact?

Abstract

One and a half years after the implementation of the ISPS code in Swedish ports there is still much work to be done. Port security covers so much more than technical and instrumental issues. The manners in which perceptions of threat are defined and constructed are also of central importance in understanding the rationale of working with port security. Alongside with the development of regulations, new technological tools and instrumental procedures efforts have to be put into the understanding the processes connected to their implementation. Even though the world, through the globalisation, is becoming smaller in many perspectives there are always local contexts to take into consideration. No matter the magnitude and the devastation at the epicentre of an event, the effect will be regarded differently as the shockwave decreases over time and distance in space. This article shows some of the problems related to the implementation of international regulations, in this case the implementation of the ISPS code in Swedish ports. It high-lights the relations between important actors involved, the possibilities of a Port Security Network and the effects of weak links between the actors within the network.