Initiated modern maritime security program
On 7 October 1985, four members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro when it was in the Mediterranean Sea en route from Alexandria, Egypt to Port Said. After the Israeli Government refused their demand for release of 50 imprisoned Palestinians, they killed disabled American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and threw him and his wheelchair overboard. The terrorists surrendered to Egyptian officials and boarded a flight to Tunisia. The flight was intercepted by US Navy fighter aircraft and was forced to land in Italy. The four hijackers were arrested by the Italian Government but their alleged leader, Abu Abbas, was allowed to depart. This incident awakened governments around the world and the IMO to the security threats faced by passenger vessels. Almost immediately thereafter, the IMO adopted a Resolution calling upon governments, shipowners, and other maritime stakeholders to take steps to strengthen port and on-board security to ensure the security of passengers and crews on board ships. In the United States, Congress adopted the International Maritime and Port Security Act of 1986, providing the US Coast Guard with clear authority to require development of contingency plans and procedures to prevent or respond to acts of terrorism. The Coast Guard immediately sought voluntary compliance by the passenger ship industry and then adopted mandatory regulations. Following the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, maritime security was extensively broadened. Many of the current security measures, though, are direct descendents of the protocols adopted in the wake of the Achille Lauro incident.