Maritime protection of critical infrastructure assets in the Campeche Sound

Abstract

Following the 9/11 terrorist events in the United States, the Mexican Navy developed strategies designed to prevent similar attacks on the strategic facilities located in the Campeche Sound in the Gulf of Mexico. The Sound is of great economic importance because more than 83 percent of the petroleum produced in Mexico is extracted from that area. This also makes it a key potential target for international terrorists. This research analyzed and evaluated the Mexican Navy's allocation of surveillance and interdiction resources assigned to the Campeche Sound. The data was obtained via an agent-based simulation, implemented through the use of the software program Map Aware Non-uniform Automata (MANA). The simulation model includes the presence of terrorist boats attacking oil platforms, the Navy resources in the area, service-provider ships in the Sound, and fishing boats that often penetrate into the Sound's exclusion and prevention zones. From the study is concluded that: the most important threat factor in the scenarios is the speed of the enemy boats; and, with its broad surveillance and communication capabilities, the HAWKEYE is the most important navy resource in the area. The results also provide an operational guide to allocate the Navy units in the Campeche Sound.