Seeing Times Square cleared out twice in recent weeks provides unpleasant evidence of our vulnerability to a terrorist attack. But people did come back into Times Square, and it’s tough to imagine that area without wall-to-wall crowds. But what if the area’s near-miss with an SUV had instead been a small craft with a home-made bomb drifting near a huge cruise ship in a major U.S. port?
In an extensive investigation and analysis of cruise ship security, the U.S. Government Accountability Office generally gives high marks to the industry and the maritime safety and law-enforcement agencies tasked with protecting cruise ships. Still, nearly everyone associated with cruise ships is sensitive to the possibility that a single terrorist act could inflict huge losses on the industry. While loss of life is the paramount concern in safety efforts, the loss of billions of dollars in bookings would represent a body blow that might extend for years.
