Q1.What is the ISPS Code?
The ISPS Code and new provisions in the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS) were adopted by contracting Governments of the International Maritime Organisation on 12 December 2002 to enhance maritime security.These new requirements form the international framework through which ships and port facilities co-operate to detect and deter acts which threaten security in the maritime transport sector.
The ISPS Code provides further detail and guidance on the measures outlined in the new SOLAS Regulations. Part A of the Code contains the mandatory requirements which Contracting Governments must implement taking into account the detailed guidance in Part B of the Code.
Q2. Who does the Code apply to?
1.The following types of ships engaged on international voyages:
Passenger ships, including high- speed passenger craft, cargo ships, including high-speed craft, of 500 gross tonnage and upwards Mobile offshore drilling units; and
2 Port facilities serving such ships engaged on international voyages
Requirements of the ISPS Code
Q1. What are the requirements of the ISPS Code?
- Responsibilities of Contracting Governments, e.g setting security levels and providing guidance for protection from security incidents ,establishing the requirements for a Declaration of Security, testing the effectiveness of ship security plans and or port facility security plans and exercising control and compliance measures in accordance with SOLAS X-1 2/9;
- A Declaration of Security addressing the security requirements that could be shared between a port facility and a ship (or between ships) and stating the responsibility each shall take.
- Obligations of the company to “ensure the ship security plan contains a clear statement emphasizing the master’s authority” and “ensure the company security officer, the master and the ship security officer are given the necessary support to fulfil their duties and responsibilities”.
- Ship security with activities defined as to how a ship is required to act upon security levels set by Contracting Governments.
- Ship Security Assessments to be “carried out by persons with appropriate skills to evaluate the security of a ship” and to include an on-scene survey and a number of other elements.
- Ship Security Plan approved by the Administration and carried on board ship.
- Records of certain “activities addressed in the ship security plan shall be kept on board for at least the minimum period specified by the Administration” These records to be protected from unauthorised access or disclosure.
- Provisions for designated company security officers and ship security officers.
- Training, drills and exercises concerning ship security.
- Verification and certification for ships.
Other requirements under Amendments to SOLAS chapters V and XI include:
- Carriage requirements for ship borne navigational systems and equipment.
- Requirements as to where and how the ship’s identification number will be permanently marked.
- Every ship to which chapter I of SOLAS applies must have a Continuous Synopsis Record containing specified information.
- Provision of a ship security alert system as specified in SOLAS XI-6
ISPS Code Compliance
Q1. Which Ships need to comply with the ISPS Code?
The ISPS Code and the Amendments to SOLAS apply to the following types of ships engaged on international voyages:
- Passenger ships, including high-speed passenger craft.
- Cargo ships, including high-speed craft, of 500 gross tonnage and upwards, and also including commercial yachts carrying over 12 fare paying passengers.
- Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs).
They also apply to port facilities serving such ships engaged on international voyages.
Q2. To what extent does the ISPS code apply to commercial and private yachts?
The ISPS Code will apply to commercial yachts over 500 GT. It will not apply to commercial yachts under 500GT or to private yachts. A yacht carrying over 12 fare paying passengers will be classed as a passenger vessel. If it is also over 500 gt and engaged on international voyages, then the ISPS Code will apply. The reference to this in the code is ISPS Code reference is A/3.1.1.
Q3. If a mega yacht is used solely for the owner’s purposes, and all 12 passengers are carried as guests. Do they have to comply with ISPS?
Yes, because they are a cargo vessel over 500gt. Passengers are defined in SOLAS as persons who are carried and are not members of the crew, so it does not matter whether they are commercial or private.
International Ship Security Certificate (ISSC)
Q1. How do UK registered ships gain a UK International Ship Security Certificate (ISSC)?
The following steps need to be taken:
- Appoint and organise approved training for, the Company Security Officer and Ship Security Officers.
- Ensure a Ship Security Assessment (ISPS Code A/8.2) is undertaken for each ship by people with appropriate skills. This will include as on-scene survey of the ship (ISPS Code A/8.4) and could involve the use of a consultant.
- Approve the Ship Security Assessment (ISPS Code A/8.5)
- Develop a Ship Security Plan (ISPS Code A/9.4) taking into account the findings of the Ship Security Assessment. This could involve the use of a consultant.
- Implement Ship Security Plan (SSP) and submit SSP and Ship Security Assessment for approval to TRANSEC for passenger ships or MCA for cargo ships. The UK is not authorising Recognised Security Organisations.
- Arrange for an internal review of the ship security system prior to verification visit.
Ship Security Assessment and Plan (SSA and SSP)
Q1. Why do ships need to have a Ship Security Assessment and a Ship Security Plan?
The Ship Security Assessment (SSA) is an essential and integral part of the process of developing and updating Ship Security Plans (SSP).
Q2. What language does the Ship Security Plan need to be in?
The SSP is to be developed from the SSA written in the working language of the ship. If that language is not English, French or Spanish a translation into one of these languages shall be included. The reason for the translation is that different parts of the plan could be inspected by port state officers if clear grounds for non-compliance are established.
Q3. When do we need to have Ship Security Alert Systems?
Ship Security Alert Systems should be fitted after the ships first radio survey after 1stJuly 2006.
Ship’s Identification (IMO) Number
Q1. Are IMO Numbers required before the first dry-dock after July 2004?
IMO Numbers do not need to be fitted until first dry-dock after July 2004. Please note if dry-docking before then it would be suggested that they are applied sooner rather than later
Q2. How should the Ships Identification Number (SIN) be marked on a Ship?
The marking shall be plainly visible and painted in a contrasting colour in the form of “IMO XXXXXXX”. On ships constructed of steel or metal the marking shall be made by:
- raised lettering, or
- cutting it in, or
- centre-punching it, or
- any equivalent method of marking which is not easily expunged.
Q3. Where should the marking of the SIN go?
Externally the permanent marking shall be clear of any other markings on the hull and shall be not less than 200 mm high (width proportionate to the height). The positioning of the external marking is subject to a range of options:
- on the stern of the ship, or
- either side of the hull, amidships port and starboard, above the deepest assigned load line, or
- either side of the superstructure port and starboard, or
- on the front of the superstructure, or
- In the case of passenger ships, on a horizontal surface visible from the air.
Internally the permanent marking shall be in an easily accessible place and shall be not less than 100 mm high (width proportionate to the height). The positioning of the internal marking is also subject to a range of options:
- on either end of the transverse bulkheads of machinery spaces as defined in regulation II-2/3.30, or
- one of the hatchways or
- in the case of tankers in the pump room, or
- In the case of ships with ro-ro spaces as defined in regulation II-2/3.41, on one of the end transverse bulkheads of the ro-ro space.
Company Security Officers & Ship Security Officers
Q1. Why is there a need for a Company Security Officer and Ship Security Officer?
Shipping companies are required to designate a Company Security Officer (CSO) to co-ordinate the security activities of the company and its ships on one hand and port facilities and Governments on the other. The CSO is also responsible for ensuring the security systems are fully maintained and internally audited. Each ship is to have a designated Ship Security Officer (SSO), who may be the ships master.
The CSO and SSO are required to have knowledge of the security system and to have received appropriate training; this also applies to other personnel assigned security duties. In addition to maintaining the SSP they are to ensure its effective implementation by carrying out drills and exercises at appropriate intervals. The guidance gives a three month interval for drills, or within a week of changing more than 25% of the crew (if they have not participated in a drill on that ship within 3 months) and annual exercises.
Q2. What arrangements need to be made in the case of a one–ship company where the master is the owner/operator, regarding the appointment of a Company Security Officer (CSO)?
The ISPS Code requires a shore based CSO to be appointed
Q3. Can a CSO request a Declaration of Security?
A company can instruct the SSO to request a Declaration of Security.
Entering a Foreign Port
Q1. When should this information be provided?
When a ship announces its intention to enter the port of a Member State, the competent authority for maritime security of that Member State shall require that the information referred to in paragraph 2.1 of Regulation 9 be provided:
- At least twenty-four hours in advance; or
- At the latest, at the time the ship leaves the previous port, if the voyage time is less than twenty-four hours.
Q2. What happens if all necessary information is provided but the member state believes we are not in compliance with the ISPS Code?
If, after receipt of this information, there are clear grounds for believing that the ship is in non-compliance with the ISPS code, port state officers are to attempt to establish communications with and between the ship and its Administration in order to rectify the situation. Should this fail they may take proportionate steps that include:
- A requirement to rectify the non-compliance,
- A requirement that the ship proceed to a location specified in the country’s territorial seas or internal waters,
- Inspection of the ship, if it is within their territorial sea,
- Denial of entry into port.
Offshore Installations
Q1. Concerning offshore installations, is a UK ship travelling from a UK Port to an installation in the UK sector considered to be on a domestic voyage, and if the installation is in a foreign sector, on an international voyage?
A UK ship travelling from a UK port to an installation in the UK sector (of the North Sea) would not be travelling to a port, so this is not an international voyage. Even if the installation was in a foreign sector of the North Sea, it would still not be a port. The word port’ is not defined in SOLAS Chapter 1, however it is considered that it would be stretching the natural meaning too far to make it include an offshore installation.
Q2. What is the ISPS definition of a MODU?
The reference to MODU is shorthand for that contained in SOLAS XI-2/1. MODU means a Mechanically propelled Offshore Drilling Unit as defined in regulation 1X/1 not on location.
Regulation IX/1 defines MODU as ‘a vessel capable of engaging in drilling operations for the exploration or exploitation of resources beneath the sea-bed such as liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons, sulphur or salt’.
IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee at its 77th session, which met in May 2003 after the ISPS Code was ratified, agreed that Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units and Floating Storage Units (FSU) were not subject to the ISPS Code. It was also agreed that Single Buoy Moorings (SBM) would be covered either by the security regime of the offshore facility or port facility as appropriate.
Q3. Will all MODUs be required to obtain ISSCs?
A3. If a MODU is mechanically propelled – ie able to make a voyage as opposed to being just able to move around a wellhead – it will need an ISSC, with no exceptions.
