Grave security breaches
During my last crossing from Olbia to Genoa on the Moby ferry “Ale Due”, I had some very unpleasant experiences which, in my opinion, show that the security concept currently practiced by “Porto di Olbia” leads, on the one hand, to completely absurd reactions by security personnel and, on the other hand, to serious and very grave security breaches. For this reason, I will no longer use the ferries departing from there and can only recommend that other users do the same.
I had booked a crossing with my motorcycle and arrived at the terminal two hours before the ship's departure time, as requested. After passing through security with my motorcycle, I was first in line in the vehicle queue for motorcycles. At security, only my ID card and ferry ticket were checked. I did not observe any other ferry passengers undergoing more thorough checks. No one had to open their luggage. The interior or trunk of cars was not checked in any case.
As boarding was delayed, I asked the security staff where I could find a toilet. They directed me to the Porto di Olbia building. When I returned, the security staff sent me back into the building, even though I had already been checked, and asked me to be checked again. I was not aware that there were security checks in this building at all. Apparently, these are for ferry passengers who are traveling without a vehicle. These checks are similar to security checks at airports, where a metal detector is used and the contents of luggage are examined with an X-ray machine. There are no such strict security checks for ferry passengers who use the ferry with a vehicle. During this check, a pocket knife that I was carrying in my pants pocket, as is not unusual when camping with a motorcycle, was declared a “weapon.” The blade of the knife was shorter than 6 cm. I was then quickly surrounded by several security guards, who were all very nervous. One employee put her hand on the handle of her gun. I was then accused of illegally carrying a weapon. I was also accused of wearing pants with the protectors and metal buckles that are standard for motorcycling. Wearing such protective gear is mandatory in all EU countries when riding a motorcycle. I tried to point out these circumstances, using the English language, which is customary in such situations. Apparently, the security personnel did not have a sufficient command of this language. I was then taken to a bus parked in front of the building. I didn't know what would happen next or where this bus would take me. On the bus, I was again surrounded by several employees. It was obvious that I was being treated like a criminal. The bus then drove the few meters to the ferry. There, in front of the other waiting passengers and the ferry staff, I was escorted under guard—including an employee who kept her hand on the handle of her gun—to a room on the ship where my pocket knife was handed over to a member of the ship's crew. After that, the ordeal was suddenly over and I was allowed to return to my motorcycle.
This reaction by the security personnel was completely disproportionate. In my opinion, employees who obviously suffer from insignificance were trying to show off their enormous importance. However, it also became apparent that the security concept of the “Porto di Olbia” suffers from serious shortcomings: while ferry passengers traveling without vehicles are subject to extremely strict checks, as is the case with air travel, ferry passengers traveling with vehicles are not subject to any security checks whatsoever. Vehicles are also not checked for weapons or explosives. There also appear to be no detectors for dangerous substances that may be in the vehicles. It is therefore very easy to bring a suitably prepared vehicle onto a ferry and use it to carry out an attack. Unlike on an airplane, the perpetrators could even leave the ship again beforehand. It would also be very easy to smuggle weapons into the vehicles and then take hostages, as the vehicle decks are accessible to ferry passengers during the journey. Against the backdrop of Middle Eastern organizations announcing that they will shift their fight to Europe, or the increasing number of cases of hybrid warfare in recent times, I believe it is grossly negligent to accept such security gaps in ferry operations. There are between 2,000 and 3,000 passengers on a ferry. Taking so many people hostage would lead to significant security problems. In my opinion, the extremely strict controls on ferry passengers without vehicles are being misused to distract attention from the virtually non-existent security checks on ferry passengers with vehicles. This is possibly because effective security checks on vehicles involve considerable costs.