|
A week-long meeting in London
beginning 2 December 2002 is set to
adopt a completely new regulatory
regime that will make it mandatory
for all countries to implement rules
and regulation aimed at preventing
ships and their cargo from becoming
targets of terrorist activities.
The International Maritime
Conference, which convenes the
Diplomatic Conference at which
Malaysia will also be represented,
will put before the meeting of
worldwide governments raft of
measures on maritime security
discussed at the Maritime Safety
Committee's intersessional working
group which met in September 2002.
Following the adoption of the
proposed security measures, the
respective countries are expected to
introduce enabling national
legislation to give legal scope to
enforce the security rules.
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 world's 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 co-operation
between contracting governments,
government agencies, local
administrations and the shipping and
port industries to detect security
threats and take preventive measures
against security incidents affecting
ships or port facilities used in
international trade.
It will establish their respective
roles and responsibilities and
ensure the early and efficient
collection and exchange of
security-related information.
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 present 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 facility.
The Code will provide a methodology
for security assessments to be made
so that plans and procedures to
react to changing security levels
can be established.
At security level 1, for instance,
it is envisaged that the activities
to be carried out aboard ship would
include the following: ensuring the
performance of all ship security
duties; monitoring restricted areas
to ensure that only authorized
persons have access; controlling
access to the ship; monitoring of
deck areas and areas surrounding the
ship; controlling the embarkation of
persons and their effects;
supervising the handling of cargo
and ship's stores; and ensuring that
port-specific security communication
is readily available.
By the same token, security level 1
would require a number of actions
within the port facility, among them
ensuring the performance of all port
facility security duties; monitoring
restricted areas to ensure that only
authorized persons have access;
controlling access to the port
facility; monitoring of the port
facility, including mooring areas;
supervising the handling of cargo
and ships' stores and ensuring that
security communication is readily
available.
Among the provisions of the Code are
requirements for shipping companies
to appoint security officers at
company level and for individual
ships, and for each ship to carry an
approved ship security plan on
board.
The plan should include measures to
be taken at each of the three
security levels referred to earlier.
Ships would also be required to
carry a Continuous Synopsis Record,
which would provide a lifetime
record of details such as the
vessel's identification, ownership,
registration and classification.
Security assessments would be
required for all port facilities
coming within the scope of the Code,
and these would have to be reviewed
and verified by the contracting
government.
On the basis of this assessment, a
port facility security plan would be
established.
Furthermore, a port facility
security officer would be designated
for each port facility.
Aside from the provisions of the
Code, the meeting also worked on
revisions to the SOLAS Convention
that would address control
requirements and security alert
devices to be carried abroad ships.
The IMO meeting will also discuss
the progress on the implementation
of the revised STCW Convention that
governs seafarers' standards. |
