Like many other industries, shipping too must face up to the realities of global terrorism. The International Maritime Organisation, the maritime agency of the United Nations, has worked fast to develop a new international code for the security of ports and ships. The draft Code, which is to be considered at a diplomatic conference held by the IMO in December, is expected to have a significant impact on the industry, with all ships over 500 dwt having to meet the requirements by July 2004. The deadline for compliance by ports is planned to be 2005.
With the recent attack on the French-registered oil tanker Limburg off Yemen, shipping was for the first time since September 11, 2001 directly affected by a terrorist act. At home and abroad, the regulatory agenda is now dominated by security. The development of security rules for ships and ports worldwide is now well advanced in international forums.
Taking the lead, the IMO has initiated major efforts to put in place regulations to ensure improved maritime safety. This is a consequence of both increased attention to this issue internationally and, not least, pressure imposed by the USA.
Practical approach
Says Brian Parkinson, trade and operations adviser to the International Chamber of Shipping: The primary focus of this work will be on regulations that assign security-improvement responsibilities to shipping companies, ships and maritime personnel. While agreeing that security concerns are real, however, I feel that the response should be practical and pragmatic. There should be a balance between security measures and the need to keep trade moving.
According to Parkinson, the UK shipping industry and authorities are fundamentally in favour of the IMOs plans and see the consequences of terrorist acts against the USA as a way of achieving better, more comprehensive international regulations for shipping and the transport of goods.
As highlighted in a recent IMO Briefing, the new measures are centred around a proposed International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, Part A of which is expected to be made mandatory through amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), under which more than 98 per cent of the worlds international shipping fleet operates. Part B of the Code has been drafted as guidance material and is recommendatory.
The overall objectives of the Code are to establish an international framework involving cooperation between Contracting Governments, Government agencies, local administrations and the shipping and port industries to detect security threats and take preventative measures against security incidents affecting ships or port facilities used in international trade. It will establish their respective roles and responsibilities and ensure the efficient collection and exchange of security-related information.
Government-set security levels
The Code seeks to establish the guiding philosophy that will underpin the whole approach to maritime security. The essence of this philosophy is that, because each ship and each port facility presents different risks, the Contracting Government should determine and set the appropriate security level. Security levels 1, 2 and 3 will correspond to normal, medium and high threat situations respectively. The security level creates a link between the ship and the port facility, since it triggers the implementation of appropriate security measures for the ship and for the port. The Code will provide a methodology for security assessments to be made so that plans and procedures can be established to react to changing security levels.
Parkinson comments: The proposals are very wide-ranging, extending from vessels bridge equipment, through security plans, security officers and the assessment and certification of ports, to passengers, crew and port personnel identification and the installation of covert security alarms on ships. Every ship will also be required to carry a Continuous Synopsis Record which will provide a lifetime record of details such as the vessels identification, ownership, registration and classification.
Worldwide agreement
Speaking at a recent security conference in London, Frank Wall, Head of Shipping Policy 2 of the UK Department for Transport, and chairman of the IMO Working Group on Security Issues, said: The authorities must take responsibility for maintaining international order on the seas for global trade to remain in existence. It is fundamentally important that regulations and countermeasures are proportional to the threat, and that such regulations are agreed to on a worldwide basis through the IMO and not by individual nations or as regional special schemes. This will contribute to the regulations being easier to comply with, and to safeguarding of protection accorded by the law to crews, ships and shipping companies.
In his speech to the Intersessional Working Group in September of this year, IMO Secretary-General William ONeil stated there was a need for balance in the inspection and control of ships, and urged those governments wishing to take preventative action and to put in place anti-terrorist defences as soon as possible that it would be prudent to wait until IMO had adopted a meaningful set of international standards.
It is vital, he emphasised, that there be a balance between the need for enhanced security and the continuing requirements of unimpeded seaborne trade.