Wheres al Qaedas fleet of cargo ships? This mysterious fleet has shown up in news reports several times in the past five years. The US Coast Guard and intel agencies have made some strenuous efforts to find the elusive al Qaeda fleet. There are some suspicious operators out there, always have been. But none, it appears, are owned by al Qaeda. However, some of these shady shipping companies are willing to carry out missions for al Qaeda if the price is right, and the risks reasonable. These operators know that they are toast if they get involved with a high casualty op, and get ID'd. 

The Intel agencies have spread the word around the criminal underground that pursuit will be relentless, and punishment harsh and certain for anyone who gets too cozy with Islamic terrorists. It's understood that the criminal gangs will do business with just about anyone (including intel agencies from just about anywhere). But even in this amoral atmosphere, the Western intel agencies have drawn a line of death for the players. At the other extreme, the word is out that valuable favors can be had for any gangsters who pass on valuable info about terrorist operations. Such deals are fairly common, although not given much publicity for obvious reasons (the resulting headlines cause major political headaches.)