This article lays out a typology of counter-terrorism practice in the UK ports in the context of responses to international terrorism, providing a mechanism to examine port security. Focusing on developments in the years after the International Ship and Port Facility (ISPS) Code came into force on 1 July 2004, the article first lays out the policy environment in which counter-terrorism practice was implemented, arguing that the securitisation of UK ports was framed by the pursuit of the ‘war on terror’. With this complete, the article moves to elaborate the typology, examining ‘legislation and regulations’, ‘institutional developments and infrastructure changes’ alongside ‘working practices’ implemented. The article concludes by utilising the typology to argue that the counter-terrorism security response relating to UK ports in this context was constantly evolving, layered and increasingly expansive in scope, highlighting a spatial dimension to the securitisation of UK ports.