As
you will no doubt have read in the maritime
Press, the ISPS Code was adopted at the IMO
Conference of Contracting Governments to the
Solas Convention in December 2002 as SOLAS
Chapter XI-2. This Code comes
into effect on 1st July 2004.
Our
Registry is concerned with the introduction
and compliance with the Ship Security
aspects of this Code. In this regard,
we would like to bring the following to your
attention:
1.
Applicability
The
Code applies to all ships of 500 GT and
above which are engaged in international
voyages in the same way as SOLAS. It
also includes mobile offshore drilling
units.
2.
Ship Security Requirements
We
urge Owners to obtain a copy of the ISPS
Code. Briefly, insofar as ships are
concerned, the Ship Security Plan involves
the following key elements:
- Company
Security Officer (CSO)
A
designated individual in the company
responsible for developing and implementing
a security program.
- Ship
Security Assessment (SSA)
A
risk-based analysis of security-related
hazards or threats for each ship the company
operates. The assessment should
address the particulars of the ship, its
cargoes and crew and the locations where it
will operate. It should also consider
the likelihood of various security-related
scenarios and possible responses to those
scenarios.
A
ship document based on the assessment that
identifies equipment and the measures and
procedures which are to be employed to
maintain security on board the ship.
The plan must address specific measures
appropriate to the level of security
specified by the government or the
company. The plan must be approved by
the flag State or its Recognized Security
Organization.
- Ship
Security Officer (SSO)
A
designated individual on board each ship
responsible for implementing the plan, for
ensuring the plan is followed at all times,
both at sea and in port, and for the
training of the ship’s crew so they are
familiar with their security-related
duties. This individual is the primary
point of contact between the ship and the
Port Facility Security Officer on hand at
each port or terminal.
3.
Certification
Compliance
with the Code will be evidenced by
Certification issued to each ship as well as
its Managers/Operators, similar to the ISM
Code. Our Registry is in the process
of approving certain Recognized Security
Organizations to act on our behalf in the
issuance of such International Ship Security
Certificates. Up to now, we have
approved and are in the process of signing
agreements with the following organizations:
American
Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, China
Classification Society, Det Norske Veritas,
Germanischer Lloyd, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai,
Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.
Other
security organizations are in the process of
applying for our approval. However,
bearing in mind that we do not wish our
vessels to be targeted for inspection, we
shall be selective in our approval of
Recognized Security Organizations. In
other words, Recognized Organizations which
are targeted by the various MOUs (e.g.
Priority 1 status for boarding by USCG) are
unlikely to be approved.
4.
Time-table
In
view of this Registry’s numerous
experiences in the past with regard to the
tardiness in the implementation by Owners of
new regulations within the dates stipulated
by the Conventions, we have decided to
request compliance i.e. Certification (at
least Interim Certification) of all the
relevant vessels by 31st December
2003. In order to achieve this target,
Owners will need to have completed their
Ship Security Plans for each vessel prior to
30th September 2003. This will enable
them to operate the vessels for a short
period in compliance with the Plans prior to
presenting them for certification.
Kindly
convey all the above to the Owners of
vessels to which the ISPS Code
applies. Your urgent attention to this
matter would be appreciated.
With
kind regards,
Angelo
Mouzouropoulos FICS, FCI Arb.
Eng. Libardo Brú BSc., MSc.
Director-General
Head of Technical Department
