IMO News_3/04

IM NEWS
THE MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION
ISSUE 3 . 2004
NEW SECURITY REGIME ENTERS FORCE
AIR POLLUTION RULES PASS
RATIFICATION TARGETS
TIME TO BOOST SHIPPING’S IMAGE AS
QM2 HIGHLIGHTS ACHIEVEMENTS

IMO News • Issue 3 2004
The leading trade show in Holland
for the total maritime industry
Visit Rotterdam Maritime 2004:
the leading maritime
business-to-business event!
16 - 20
November
2 0 0 4
Contents
Opinion
4-5 IMO 2004; Focus on Maritime Security – The World Maritime Day address
from IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos
Intelligence
The Queen Mary 2
– an achievement in shipping that
should help raise the industry’s profile
The International Maritime
Organization (IMO)
4, Albert Embankment
London SE1 7SR
UK
Tel +44 (0)20 7735 7611
Fax +44 (0)20 7587 3210
Email (general enquiries)
info@imo.org
Website www.imo.org
Rotterdam Maritime is the important
Dutch meeting point for the maritime sector.
With more than 500 exhibitors and all
the important national and international
maritime organisations present, the trade
fair offers you a clear and complete
overview of the entire maritime market.
With the well-known good informal
atmosphere and diversity of business
presentations Rotterdam Maritime provides
an exclusive environment to do business in
the heart of the maritime industry!
Don’t miss it!
Register now at www.rotterdammaritime.nl
All business is local: Rotterdam Maritime 2004
New Opening Times:
Tuesday 16 / Wednesday 17 November : 11.00 - 19.00 hrs
Thursday 18 / Friday 19 November : 11.00 - 22.00 hrs
Saturday 20 November : 10.00 - 17.00 hrs
www.rotterdammaritime.nl
Tel.: +31 10 293 32 50
Fax: +31 10 293 32 18
E-mail: info@rotterdammaritime.nl
7 SOLAS security amendments and ISPS Code now in force
9 Council supports shipping lanes initiative; SOLAS - more key
amendments enter force
10 Air pollution rules to enter force in 2005; Flurry of activity as Athens
Protocol signature period ends
11 Persons rescued at sea - guidance to be enhanced
Feature
13-24 IMO 2004: Focus on Maritime Security
As the shipping world celebrates World Maritime Day, this in-depth feature
examines the special focus that IMO has placed on maritime security over
the years and the particular attention the subject has received during the
period since the terrorist atrocities of 11 September 2001
Meetings
26 Legal Committee (LEG) 88th session
27-30 Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) 78th session
31-32 Technical Co-operation Committee (TC) 54th session
33-34 Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation (Nav) 50th session
35-36 Facilitation Committee (FAL) 31st session
IMO at Work
37 Chairmen meet to streamline procedures; SG visits Mediterranean pollution
centre; New generation of lawyers graduates from IMLI; Mahgreb issues
highlighted in FAL seminar; Seatrade awards – entries sought
38 QM2 model prompts celebration of shipping; Mural highlights cleanliness;
council makes WMU appointments; New navaids tender for Middle East
Managing Editor
Lee Adamson
(ladamson@imo.org)
Assistant Editor
Natasha Brown
(nbrown@imo.org)
Editorial production
Aubrey Botsford,
Brian Starkey
Advertising
Hanna Moreton
(hmoreton@imo.org,
tel +44 (0)20 7735 7611)
Distribution
Lesley Brooks
(lbrooks@imo.org)
IMO News is the magazine of
the International Maritime
Organization and is
distributed free of charge to
qualified readers. The
opinions expressed are not
necessarily those of IMO and
the inclusion of an
advertisement implies no
endorsement of any kind by
IMO of the product or service
advertised. The contents may
be reproduced free of charge
on condition that
acknowledgement is given to
IMO News.
Please allow at least ten
weeks from receipt at IMO for
additions to, deletions from or
changes in the mailing list.
Copyright © IMO 2004
Pub 557/04
N042E
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 3

Opinion
Message from
the Secretary-General
Mr. Efthimios Mitropoulos
World Maritime Day 2004
IMO 2004:
Focus on maritime security
In 2002, IMO acknowledged its changing
priorities by endorsing a new mission statement,
an evolution from the then theme of “Safer
Shipping and Cleaner Oceans” to “Safe, Secure and
Efficient Shipping on Clean Oceans”. This better
reflects the broader objectives of the Organization
and provides a blueprint for future action. In
selecting our World Maritime Day theme for this
year, we have chosen to highlight the increased
emphasis that IMO has placed recently on
maritime security.
If the natural perils of the sea were not sufficient,
today, as we all know, shipping has additionally to
confront the man-made threat of crime at sea,
which is often violent and brutal, along with the
scourge of international terrorism. Regrettably, this
is not a new phenomenon. As long ago as the late
1970s, IMO was forced to turn its attention to
unlawful acts such as barratry, the unlawful seizure
of ships and their cargoes and other forms of
maritime fraud; and, since 1982, we have been
monitoring acts of piracy and armed robbery
against ships in various parts of the world and have
taken measures to combat them in those areas that
suffer most. Perhaps the most disconcerting aspect
in all these efforts is that the degree of violence in
incidents involving piracy and armed robbery
seems to be increasing.
Following the 1985 incident, in which terrorists
hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro and
killed a passenger before agreeing terms to end
their siege, IMO developed a series of technical
measures to prevent unlawful acts against
passengers and crews on board ships and later on,
in March 1988, adopted the Convention for the
Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of
Maritime Navigation - the SUA Convention - and its
Protocol relating to offshore platforms.
The principal purpose of the SUA instruments is to
ensure that persons committing unlawful acts
against ships will not be given shelter in any
country but will either be prosecuted or extradited
to a State where they will stand trial.
The dreadful events of 11 September 2001 gave
unprecedented impetus to IMO’s concern about
unlawful acts which threaten the safety of ships and
their passengers and crews. In the wake of 9/11, it
became clear that the shipping industry needed a
new, more stringent and more comprehensive set
of measures to address the question of maritime
security. In November 2001, the IMO Assembly
called for a thorough review of all existing
measures to combat acts of violence and crime at
sea. At the same time, Contracting Governments to
the Safety of Life at Sea Convention attending the
Assembly agreed to hold a diplomatic conference
on maritime security in December 2002 to adopt
any new security regulations and measures that
might be deemed necessary. The Assembly also
agreed a significant boost of £1.5 million to the
Organization’s technical co-operation programme to
help developing countries address maritime
security issues.
The 2002 Conference adopted a series of wideranging
new security measures, along with 11
associated resolutions, which represented the
culmination of a great deal of intense and detailed
work in IMO during the preceding year. These
new measures entered into force on 1 July 2004.
The most far-reaching of them is the International
Ship and Port Facility Security Code – the ISPS
Code. It provides a consistent, standardized
framework for evaluating risk, enabling
Governments to offset changes in threat with
changes in vulnerability for ships and port facilities
through the determination of appropriate security
levels and corresponding security measures.
IMO’s efforts to improve maritime security have
been part of an all-embracing initiative across the
UN system to tackle terrorism. UN Security
Council resolution 1368 was adopted the day after
the 9/11 attacks and, since then, several more UN
resolutions have been adopted to counter
terrorism. Security Council resolution 1456, for
example, adopted in January 2003, requested States
to assist each other to improve their capacity to
prevent and fight terrorism and invited the
Counter-Terrorism Committee to facilitate the
provision of technical and other assistance by
developing targets and priorities for global action.
This resolution also calls on international
organizations, such as IMO, to evaluate ways in
which they can enhance the effectiveness of their
action against terrorism, including by establishing
dialogue and exchanges of information with each
other.
To this end, IMO has participated in UN-organized
activities such as the Special Meeting of the
Counter-Terrorism Committee in March 2003 and
the meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Action
Group in February this year. That group was
established by the G-8 Leaders in June 2003 to
serve as a forum for co-ordinating and expanding
the provision of counter-terrorism training and
assistance.
The boundaries between acts of terrorism
and crime are often indistinct and, within
the overall perspective of the UN’s fight
against terrorism, it is important also to
mention the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime,
adopted by the General Assembly in
November 2000 and which entered into
force in September 2003. IMO has been
working with the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime in this context. Also adopted by the
General Assembly was a Protocol developed
to supplement the Convention, aimed at
combating the smuggling of migrants by
land, air and sea. This Protocol reflects the
relevant provisions of IMO’s own measures
for combating unsafe practices associated
with the trafficking or transport of migrants
by sea, which were updated in 2001.
IMO has also been working in co-operation
with the International Labour Organization
and the World Customs Organization on key
issues with a bearing on maritime security.
In July 2002, IMO and WCO signed a
Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation
on such issues of mutual interest
as container examination and integrity in
multimodal transport and matters relating to
the ship/port interface. Following a request
by the 2002 International Conference on
Maritime Security, a new seafarers’ identity
document was developed by ILO
establishing a more rigorous identity regime
for seafarers, whilst a joint ILO/IMO
Working Group has developed an ILO/IMO
Code of Practice on Security in Ports, which
was adopted by the two Organizations
earlier this year.
In the broader scheme of things, IMO’s
work in the realm of maritime security
provides support for its objectives in
enhancing safety and also preventing
pollution of the marine environment. The
detrimental impact on the environment of a
successful attack on a ship laden with oil,
chemicals or other hazardous or noxious
substances could be immense and, by
raising our defences against terrorists, we
are providing further protection in this
respect.
It is very much in the spirit of international
co-operation to counter the universal threat
of terrorism that IMO has undertaken a farreaching
and multi-faceted programme of
technical assistance, aimed at helping
Governments strengthen maritime and port
security, particularly in the developing
world.
IMO actually launched its global technical
co-operation programme on maritime
security in January 2002, that is 11 months
before the package of new maritime security
measures was adopted. The aim of the
programme initially was to raise awareness
of maritime security threats and of the
possible future regulatory measures which,
at that stage, were still under development,
through activities such as regional and subregional
seminars, workshops, training
courses and advisory missions.
Subsequently, the emphasis has moved on
to practical matters and implementation of
the new regulatory regime, with the
development of training programmes and
materials, lesson plans and model courses.
Furthermore, a Maritime Security Trust
Fund has been established to provide a
dedicated source of financial support for our
maritime security technical co-operation
activities.
Governments and the shipping and port
industries made major efforts to improve
maritime security in the weeks and months
that followed the 2002 Conference leading
up to the entry into force of the ISPS Code
and all the related security measures. All
over the world, a huge amount of work was
undertaken to ensure the highest possible
level of compliance. Figures made available
by IMO regularly to keep the maritime
community updated on progress being
made indicated that more than 86 per cent
of ships and 69 per cent of port facilities had
their security plans approved by 1 July 2004.
Coming close to 100 per cent compliance, I
applaud all those involved for the work
done.
Having agreed that the prime objective of
the work done was to increase awareness of
the real and present threat of terrorism and
explain the implications of the ISPS Code
and how best to implement it and, in so
doing, raise the shipping industry’s
defences to protect it and seaborne trade
from any terrorist attack, we must now
ensure that we remain vigilant and alert in
all respects and in all circumstances.
There were, however, administrative
bottlenecks in the run up to the entry-intoforce
date. Without them, the reported 56
per cent of International Ship Security
Certificates issued by 1 July would have
been much higher. But, although
certification is undoubtedly important, what
really counts is the work that has been done
on the ground: security officers appointed
on ships, in companies and port facilities;
training undertaken; security plans drawn
up; awareness raised; and vigilance
heightened.
It goes almost without saying that
significant and far-reaching measures such
as these cannot be implemented without
cost. The OECD, for example, has estimated
the initial burden on ship operators to be at
least US$1.27bn and US$730m per year
thereafter. On the plus side, however,
efficiency gains and reductions in theft and
fraud are anticipated to exceed the expenses
involved.
However, the price of inaction could
potentially be far greater, as a large, well coordinated
attack could result in the shutting
down of the entire maritime transport
system, with costs likely to be measured in
billions of dollars. Moreover, potential
savings resulting from the introduction of
the new measures are also identified in the
OECD report due to reduced delays, faster
processing times, better asset control and
fewer losses due to theft.
Another important element in all this is to
realize the need for balance, not just in the
cost/benefit equation but in other aspects,
too. We must try to achieve the right
balance between the need to implement the
new security regime strictly and robustly
and yet ensure that disruption to global
trade, as a result of the introduction of
security measures, is kept to a minimum; we
must find a balance between the traditional
and legally enshrined right of ships to enjoy
freedom of navigation on the high seas, and
the need to make sure that strategic and
potentially vulnerable sea lanes have the
special protection they may need; and we
must find a balance between the need to
tighten security provisions so that criminals
and terrorists cannot gain access to ships
and port facilities by posing as seafarers,
while ensuring that innocent seafarers are
not themselves unfairly penalized as a
result.
If shipping really is to continue on its path
towards being safer, cleaner, more secure
and more efficient, it needs to attract staff of
high quality and high calibre and I look to
all involved to recognize and appreciate the
contribution seafarers the world over make
towards safety, security and environmental
protection.
To conclude: even though the new
international maritime security measures
are now in force, we must not make the
mistake of resting on our laurels and
assuming the work has been completed.
The risks are too high to allow for any hint
of complacency and we must make sure that
high levels of vigilance and awareness are
maintained and built upon until they become
second nature throughout the shipping and
port industries. Terrorism is not a matter of
concern to one country or a group of
countries – it is a global issue that affects us
all and we should spare no effort to ensure
that, together, we build a robust and
resilient defence.
May we never experience the bitter and
painful experience of a terrorist act against
shipping.
4 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 5

Intelligence
SOLAS security amendments and
ISPS Code now in force
New international maritime security
measures are now in force.
Crewmen from a US Coast Guard
Cutter stand ready to protect an oil
tanker transiting Prince William
Sound en route the Port of Valdez
(Pic: US Coast Guard)
Far-reaching international maritime security
measures developed and adopted by IMO
entered into force on 1 July 2004. The security
measures, which include the International Ship and
Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code), are in the
form of amendments to the 1974 Safety of Life at Sea
(SOLAS) Convention and are aimed at enhancing
maritime security on board ships and at ship/port
interface areas. They were adopted by a Conference
on Maritime Security in December 2002.
The bulk of the new security measures are
included in a new Chapter XI-2, entitled Special
measures to enhance maritime security. The new
chapter applies to passenger ships and cargo ships
of 500 gross tonnage and above, including high
speed craft, mobile offshore drilling units and port
facilities serving such ships engaged on international
voyages, and it enshrines the much-heralded ISPS
Code.
The ISPS Code
The ISPS Code contains detailed security-related
requirements for implementation by Governments,
port authorities and shipping companies in a
mandatory section (Part A), together with a series of
guidelines about how to meet these requirements in
a second, non-mandatory section (Part B). It is the
first ever internationally agreed regulatory
framework addressing the crucial issue of maritime
security and represents the international maritime
community’s contribution to the global resistance
against terrorism.
The Code requires a ship security plan to be
drawn up for all SOLAS vessels, and for the plan to
be approved by the flag State administration. Each
ship must also have a designated ship security
officer and each shipping company must appoint a
company security officer. Similarly, port facilities are
also required to have an approved security plan and
to appoint a designated security officer.
Security plans
Both shipboard and port facility security plans
must set out the details of measures to be put in
place at each of three escalating security levels.
National Administrations are required to set the
security levels and ensure that security level
information is provided to ships entitled to fly their
flag. Prior to entering a port, or whilst in a port,
within the territory of a Contracting Government to
the SOLAS Convention, a ship shall comply with the
requirements for the security level set by that
Contracting Government, if that security level is
higher than the security level set by the
Administration for that ship.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 7

Intelligence
Intelligence
SOLAS security amendments and ISPS Code now in force (Continued)
IMO Council supports initiative to keep
strategic shipping lanes open
The new chapter confirms the role of the
master in exercising his professional
judgement over decisions necessary to
maintain the security of the ship. The master
shall not be constrained by the Company, the
charterer or any other person in this respect.
It also requires all ships to be provided
with a ship security alert system, fitted
according to a strict timetable which requires
most vessels to be fitted by 2004 and the
remainder by 2006. When activated, the ship
security alert system shall initiate and
transmit a ship-to-shore security alert to a
competent authority designated by the
Administration, identifying the ship, its
location and indicating that the security of
the ship is under threat or has been
compromised. The system will not raise any
alarm on board the ship. The ship security
alert system shall be capable of being
activated from the navigation bridge and in at
least one other location.
Other regulations in this chapter cover the
provision of information to IMO, the specific
responsibilities of shipping companies, and
the control of ships in port, including
measures relating to the delay, detention or
restriction of operations including movement
within the port or expulsion of a ship from
port.
To improve the traceability of ships on the
high seas, regulation XI-1/3 of the existing
SOLAS Chapter XI on Special measures to
enhance maritime safety (re-numbered as
Chapter XI-1) is modified to require ships’
identification numbers to be permanently
marked in a visible place either on the hull or
superstructure. Passenger ships should carry
the marking on a horizontal surface visible
from the air. Ships should also be marked
with their identification numbers internally.
In the same vein, a new regulation XI-1/5
requires ships to be issued with a Continuous
Synopsis Record (CSR) which is intended to
provide an on-board record of the history of
the ship. The CSR shall be issued by the
Administration and shall contain information
such as the name of the ship and the State
whose flag the ship is entitled to fly, the date
on which the ship was registered with that
State, the ship’s identification number, the
port at which the ship is registered and the
name of the registered owner(s) and their
registered address. Any changes shall be
recorded in the CSR so as to provide updated
and current information together with the
history of the changes.
Modifications to SOLAS Chapter V (Safety
of Navigation) contain a new timetable for the
fitting of Automatic Information Systems
(AIS). Ships, other than passenger ships and
tankers, of 300 gross tonnage and above but
less than 50,000 gross tonnage, are required
to fit AIS not later than the first safety
equipment survey after 1 July 2004 or by 31
December 2004, whichever occurs earlier.
Ships fitted with AIS shall maintain AIS in
operation at all times except where
international agreements, rules or standards
provide for the protection of navigational
information.
IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E.
Mitropoulos welcomed the major effort made
by Governments and the shipping and port
industries to improve maritime security in
the weeks and months leading up to the
entry into force of the ISPS Code and related
security measures.
Mr Mitropoulos said, “I think we now have
to look on the positive side and remember
that the prime objective of this work has been
to increase awareness of the real and present
threat of terrorism, explain the implications
of the ISPS Code and how best to implement
it and, in so doing, raise the shipping
industry’s defences to protect it and seaborne
trade from any act of terrorism. There is no
doubt that that has been done, the defences
are significantly higher than they were
before, and we must now ensure that they
continue to rise.”
Mr Mitropoulos acknowledged that there
had been administrative bottlenecks in the
run up to the entry into force date and that,
without them, the reported numbers of
security certificates issued by the deadline
date would have been higher. “But,” he
added, “important though certification
undoubtedly it is, what really counts is the
work that has been done on the ground:
security officers appointed on ships, in
companies and port facilities, training
undertaken, security plans drawn up,
awareness raised, and vigilance heightened.”
By early August, IMO was able to report
that, according to the latest figures available
to the IMO Secretariat from reports received
by Governments, 89.5 per cent of over 9000
declared port facilities had their Port Facility
Security Plans approved, while the
information available from industry sources
on International Ship Security Certificates
(ISSCs) issued for ships which have to
comply with the new regulatory regime,
indicates that the compliance rate was well
beyond the 90 per cent mark.
Ships and ports were both nearing 100 per cent ISPS Code compliance, according to August figures (Port of Hull)
The IMO Council has supported
Secretary-General Mitropoulos’s
initiative to identify shipping lanes of
strategic importance and significance which
may be vulnerable to terrorist attacks and to
work with all parties concerned to ensure
they are kept open under all circumstances,
allowing the uninterrupted flow of traffic.
The Council, which met for its 92nd
session from 21 to 25 June, authorized the
Secretary-General to consult with the littoral
States involved and other stakeholder States
on the issue of ensuring security throughout
strategic shipping lanes and to report to
Council at its next session in November
2004.
SOLAS – more key amendments enter force
In addition to the security-related measures,
a series of other important SOLAS
amendments adopted in December 2002 by
the expanded Maritime Safety Committee
(MSC), also enter into force on 1 July 2004.
They include:
Chapter XII (Additional Safety Measures for
Bulk Carriers)
• New regulation XII/12 on Hold, ballast
and dry space water level detectors
requires the fitting of high level alarms
and level monitoring systems on all bulk
carriers, in order to detect water ingress.
The regulation requires the fitting of
such alarms on all bulk carriers
regardless of their date of construction.
• New regulation XII/13 on Availability of
pumping systems requires the means for
draining and pumping dry space bilges
and ballast tanks any part of which is
located forward of the collision bulkhead
to be capable of being brought into
operation from a readily accessible
enclosed space.
Chapter II-1 (Construction - structure,
subdivision and stability, machinery and
electrical installations)
• In Part B (Subdivision and stability), a
new regulation II-1/3-6 Access to spaces
The IMO Secretariat has
begun research to identify
shipping lanes which may be at
risk of terrorist attacks, with a
view to working with others to
protect the interests of safety,
security, the environment and
seaborne trade.
Singapore enjoys a strategic location
at one end of the Malacca Strait,
identified as a vital trade thoroughfare
in cargo areas of oil tankers and bulk
carriers is intended to ensure that
vessels can be properly inspected
throughout their lifespan, by designing
and building the ship to provide suitable
means for access. Associated technical
provisions for means of access for
inspections are mandatory under the
regulation. Without adequate access, the
structural condition of the vessel can
deteriorate undetected and major
structural failure can arise. The
regulation requires each space within the
cargo area to be provided with an
appropriate means of access to enable,
throughout the life of a ship, overall and
close-up inspections and thickness
measurements of the ship’s structures to
be carried out.
• In Part C (Machinery Installation), a new
paragraph added to regulation 31
(Machinery control) requires automation
systems to be designed in a manner
which ensures that threshold warning of
impending or imminent slowdown or
shutdown of the propulsion system is
given to the officer in charge of the
navigational watch in time to assess
navigational circumstances in an
emergency.
Chapter II-2 (Fire protection, fire detection and
fire extinction)
• The amendments concern references to
the IMDG Code and reflect amendments
to SOLAS chapter VII (Carriage of
Dangerous Goods) adopted in May 2002
which make the International Maritime
Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code)
mandatory.
Chapter III (Life-saving appliances and
arrangements)
• Amendments to Regulation 26
(Additional requirements for ro-ro
passenger ships) require liferafts carried
on ro-ro passenger ships to be fitted with
a radar transponder in the ratio of one
transponder for every four liferafts. The
regulation is made applicable to existing
ships as well as new ships.
INF Code
• The amendments to the International
Code for the Safe Carriage of Packaged
Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and
High-Level Radioactive Wastes on board
Ships (INF Code) in the sections on
definitions and application reflect
amendments to SOLAS chapter VII
(Carriage of Dangerous Goods) adopted
in May 2002 which make the IMDG
Code mandatory.
8 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 9

Intelligence
Intelligence
Air pollution rules to enter force in 2005
Persons rescued at sea – more
guidance to be developed
Regulations for the Prevention of Air
Pollution from Ships are set to enter into
force on 19 May 2005 following the
ratification by Samoa of MARPOL Annex VI.
Annex VI sets limits on sulphur oxide and
nitrogen oxide emissions from ship exhausts
and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozonedepleting
substances. The regulations
There was a flurry of activity in the
week leading up to the closure of the
period for signature of the 2002 Protocol to
the Athens Convention Relating to the
Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage
by Sea, 1974. Four countries – Finland,
Germany, Sweden and the United
Kingdom – signed the Protocol (subject to
ratification) during the final week of the
signature period, which ended today (April
30th 2004), bringing the total number of
signatory States to six. Norway and Spain
had already signed.
include a global cap of 4.5 per cent m/m on
the sulphur content of fuel oil and calls on
IMO to monitor the worldwide average
sulphur content of fuel once the Protocol
comes into force.
It also contains provisions allowing for
special “SOx Emission Control Areas” to be
established with more stringent controls on
Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships are set to enter into force in May 2005
Flurry of activity as 2002 Athens
Protocol signature period ends
Under the 2002 Protocol the limits of
liability have been raised significantly to
reflect present day conditions and the
“tacit amendment” procedure has been
introduced to enable limits to be more
easily raised in the future. As well as
substantially raising the limits of liability
for passenger claims, the 2002 Protocol
also introduces other helpful mechanisms
to assist passengers in obtaining
compensation based on well-accepted
principles applied in existing liability and
compensation regimes dealing with
sulphur emissions. In these areas, the
sulphur content of fuel oil used on board
ships must not exceed 1.5 per cent m/m.
Alternatively, ships must fit an exhaust gas
cleaning system or use any other
technological method to limit SOx emissions.
The Baltic Sea Area is designated as a SOx
Emission Control area in the Protocol. In
March 2000, the MEPC approved a proposed
amendment to Annex VI to also include the
North Sea as a SOx Emission Control Area.
The aim is to adopt the amendment once
MARPOL Annex VI enters into force.
Annex VI prohibits deliberate emissions of
ozone depleting substances, which include
halons and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). New
installations containing ozone-depleting
substances are prohibited on all ships, but
new installations containing hydrochlorofluorocarbons
(HCFCs) are permitted
until 1 January 2020.
The Annex also sets limits on emissions of
nitrogen oxides (NOx) from diesel engines,
and prohibits the incineration on board ships
of certain products, such as contaminated
packaging materials and polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs).
The ratification by Samoa on 18 May 2004
of MARPOL Annex VI means the annex has
now met its entry-into-force criteria and will
enter into force 12 months after that date.
environmental pollution. These include
replacing the fault-based liability system of
the 1974 regime with a strict liability
system for shipping-related incidents,
backed by the requirement for the carrier
to take out compulsory insurance to cover
these potential claims.
The 2002 Protocol was adopted at a
diplomatic conference held in November
2002 at IMO Headquarters in London. It
was opened for signature on 1 May 2003.
It will enter into force 12 months after
being accepted by 10 States.
IMO is to co-ordinate the development of guidance
for masters, shipowners and governments on how
to respond to situations in which persons rescued at
sea turn out to be refugees, asylum seekers or other
undocumented migrants. The need for such
guidance was agreed by the second meeting of the
United Nations inter-agency initiative on treatment of
persons rescued at sea, held at IMO headquarters in
July 2004, following the adoption of amendments to
the SOLAS and SAR Conventions, and associated
guidelines for the treatment of persons rescued at
sea, by the 78th session of the Maritime Safety
Committee.
The meeting reaffirmed that IMO’s area of
competence was the search-and-rescue-at-sea part of
any such operation and, afterwards, the delivery of
survivors to a place of safety, as regulated by the
SOLAS and SAR Conventions. It also reaffirmed that,
in order to protect the integrity of the SAR System,
the master was not competent, and should not be
required, to decide on the legal status of the persons
rescued. However, the meeting also agreed that, in
general, guidance was required in these instances
for the post-rescue phase to assist the master and
ship-owners and Contracting Governments in those
cases.
It was agreed that such guidance
should be drafted by the inter-agency
group, as a whole, as soon as
possible and would comprise a brief
guide as to which organizations to
contact, their respective major
responsibilities and other relevant
general advice. IMO agreed to
provide the coordinating role in the
drafting of this guidance, however, it
was agreed that would in fact be
drafted mainly by other agencies,
such as UNHCR, because it applied
to the post-rescue phase. When
completed, the brief guide would be
intended to further assist the master,
ship-owners, insurance companies,
and other interested parties to
disembark the persons rescued with
the least disruption.
The meeting discussed in detail
the amendments to the SOLAS and
SAR Conventions, and associated
guidelines adopted by MSC 78 and
shared the view that IMO Member
States had arrived at a very carefully
crafted compromise which seems to
balance all the often conflicting interest of parties
concerned. The meeting noted that by these
amendments, if accepted by Member States, the
provisions, placed for the first time obligations on
Contracting Governments to “co-ordinate and cooperate”
to progress the matter so that survivors
assisted are disembarked from the assisting ship and
delivered to a place of safety within a reasonable
time.
While the Contracting Government responsible
for the search and rescue region in which such
assistance is rendered shall exercise primary
responsibility for providing a place of safety OR
ensuring that a place of safety is provided, the
meeting agreed with the views of the majority of
Member States who spoke at MSC that this does not
oblige that Government to disembark the persons
rescued in its territory.
In addition to IMO, the meeting was attended by
representatives of the UN Division for Ocean Affairs
and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS), the Office of the
United Nations Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), the Office of the United Nations
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the
International Organization for Migration.
More than 200,000 fled East Timor in
the violence preceding the country’s
independence in 2002. IMO is coordinating
the drafting of guidance for
dealing with persons rescued at sea,
whatever their status (Pic: UNHCR)
10 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 11

Security • Feature
IMO 2004: Focus on maritime
security
Warsash Nautical Books
www.nauticalbooks.co.uk
World Maritime Day 2004
History and background
The vulnerability of the global transport
infrastructure, both as a potential target for
terrorist activity and, perhaps even more
threateningly, as a potential weapon of mass
destruction, was made clear in the most graphic
and chilling detail in the terrorist atrocities of
11 September 2001.
Subsequently, other incidents, such as the attack
on the oil tanker Limburg off Yemen in October 2002
and the Madrid train bombings in March 2004,
demonstrated that the transport infrastructures of
the world, be they national or international, were
vulnerable to terrorist attacks. From the perspective
of an international Organization, IMO’s concern has
not been so much which country might be the
terrorists’ next target, but rather which mode of
transport would next attract their interest.
While those tragic events horrified the civilized
world, they also engendered a new and firm resolve
to tackle terrorism by addressing the issue of
security in the widest possible sense. Immediately
after the September 11 attacks, the International
Maritime Organization, as the United Nations
agency responsible for the safety of international
shipping, mounted a swift and thorough response to
the possibility of terrorist activity being directed
against ships or of terrorists seeking to use ships
themselves as weapons or using the proceeds of
shipping activities in order to subsidize their
unlawful operations. As part of this response, the
end of 2002 saw the adoption of a comprehensive
new regulatory regime which sets out in detail what
governments, ship operators, ships’ crews, port
facility operators and others involved in the business
of shipping should do in order to prevent and
minimize this very real threat.
But, although 9/11 gave an unprecedented
impetus to IMO’s concern about unlawful acts which
threaten the safety of ships and the security of their
passengers and crews, the subject had, in fact, been
addressed by IMO over the course of many years.
One-stop shop for all your requirements
Mail order worldwide
We specialise in nautical publications from Adlard Coles, Brown Son &
Ferguson, Butterworth-Heinemann, Cornell, Fairplay, Fernhurst, IME, IMO,
Imray, ITU, Lloyds, LLP, MCA, Nautical Institute, OCIMF, Oilfield, Reeds,
Stanford, Stationery Office, UKHO, Witherby and many more.
We stock most of the recognised texts for deck and engineer officer
training and the full range of Seamanship International training CD-ROMs.
To be kept up to date on the latest professional publications, join our
professional mailing list - simply send an email to
mailinglists@nauticalbooks.co.uk with “subscribe professional” in the
subject line.
Visit our shop, contact us or browse our website. Free catalogues available
on request. Friendly advice. Mail order worldwide. All major credit cards
accepted.
Trade, export and library sales – quotations on request including shipping
– account facilities (please inquire for details) – pro forma invoicing–
Admiralty Chart Agents – Fast efficient service
Warsash Nautical Bookshop
6 Dibles Road, Warsash, Southampton SO31 9HZ
Tel +44 (0)1489 572384 Fax +44(0)1489 885756
Email: orders@nauticalbooks.co.uk
The 9/11 attacks gave an
unprecedented impetus to
IMO’s concerns about
maritime security
(pic: US Coast Guard)
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 13

Feature • Security Security • Feature
As long ago as in the late 1970s, IMO was
forced to turn its attention to the
consideration of unlawful acts such as
barratry, the unlawful seizure of ships and
their cargoes and other forms of maritime
fraud. Since 1982, the Organization has been
monitoring acts of piracy and armed robbery
against ships in various parts of the world
and has taken measures to combat unlawful
acts in those areas that suffer most from
them. So far, it has received some 3,500
reports involving loss of ships and, in many
cases, loss of life. The most disconcerting
aspect is to see that the degree of violence
asserted in some of the reports is on the
increase.
An early catalyst in the work to combat
terrorism was the Achille Lauro incident in
1985, in which terrorists hijacked an Italian
cruise ship and killed a passenger before
agreeing terms to end their siege. That same
year, IMO’s 14th Assembly adopted a
resolution on measures to prevent unlawful
acts which threaten the safety of ships and
the security of their passengers and crews,
inviting IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee
(MSC) to develop detailed and practical
technical measures to ensure the security of
passengers and crews on board ships, taking
into account the work of the International
Civil Aviation Organization in the
development of standards and recommended
practices for airport and aircraft security.
Furthermore, in December 1985, the UN
General Assembly called on IMO to study the
problem of terrorism aboard or against ships,
with a view to making recommendations on
appropriate measures. By the following year,
the MSC had developed a series of measures
to prevent unlawful acts against passengers
and crews on board ships. An MSC circular
gave guidelines on the steps that should be
taken, with particular reference to passenger
ships engaged on international voyages and
the port facilities which service them.
Then, in November 1986, work began on
the preparation of a convention on the subject
of unlawful acts against the safety of maritime
navigation and, in March 1988, a conference
was held in Rome which adopted the
Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful
Acts against the Safety of Maritime
An early catalyst in the work to combat terrorism was the Achille Lauro incident in 1985. Terrorists hijacked an Italian
cruise ship and killed a passenger before agreeing terms to end their siege
Navigation – the so-called SUA Convention -
and its protocol relating to offshore platforms
to provide for a comprehensive suppression
of unlawful acts committed against the safety
of maritime navigation which endanger
innocent human lives, jeopardise the safety of
persons and property, seriously affect the
operation of maritime services and thus are
of grave concern to the international
community as a whole.
The main purpose of the SUA Convention
is to ensure that appropriate action is taken
against persons committing unlawful acts
against ships – such as the seizure of ships
by force; acts of violence against persons on
board ships; and the placing of devices on
board a ship which are likely to destroy or
damage it. The Convention obliges
Contracting Governments either to extradite
or prosecute alleged offenders.
In the years since its adoption, the SUA
Convention gathered widespread if not
universal acceptance and received sufficient
ratifications to enter into force in 1992. The
recent heightened awareness of security
issues has led to a dramatic increase in the
number of Parties to the SUA Convention.
While in October 2001, it had been ratified by
56 States and the 1988 SUA Protocol by 51
States, by July 2004 the Convention had been
ratified by 107 countries which between them
were responsible for 81.52 per cent of the
world’s merchant shipping tonnage, and the
Protocol by 96 countries which between them
were responsible for 77.66 per cent of the
world’s tonnage.
The 2002
international maritime
security measures
Unsurprisingly, IMO’s work on maritime
security intensified dramatically following the
9/11 attacks in the United States. It had
become clear that the shipping industry
needed a new, more stringent and more
comprehensive set of measures to address
the question of maritime security and IMO’s
Secretary-General at the time, Mr William
O’Neil, initiated the process by submitting a
resolution to the Organization’s 22nd
Assembly in November 2001. This called for
a thorough review of all existing measures
A diplomatic conference at IMO adopted the new security measures in December 2002
already adopted by IMO to combat acts of
violence and crime at sea and was
unanimously approved.
At the same time, Contracting Governments
to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention
attending the Assembly agreed to hold a
diplomatic conference on maritime security to
adopt any new regulations that might be
deemed necessary to enhance ship and port
security and prevent shipping from becoming
a target of international terrorism. The
Assembly also agreed to a significant boost to
the Organization’s technical co-operation
programme of £1.5 million, to help developing
countries address maritime security issues.
The next step was the convening of an
Intersessional Working Group (ISWG) on
Maritime Security, which met from 11 to 15
February 2002. It produced a series of
recommendations, which were further
elaborated by the May 2002 meeting of the
Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 75) as well
as by other IMO bodies. A second ISWG was
held in September 2002, to develop the
measures still further, prior to the Diplomatic
Conference, which was convened in
December 2002.
Detailed work was also set underway in
IMO’s Legal Committee, which met for its
83rd session in October 2001 and embarked
on a review of the SUA Convention as a
priority item in its work programme over the
next two years. Mindful of the fact that those
responsible for perpetrating terrorist acts
should not be allowed to escape prosecution
and punishment, the objective of the review
was to ensure that SUA Convention and its
Protocol, which provide for the prosecution
or extradition of alleged criminals wherever
they happen to be, remain relevant in the
light of the new global climate of heightened
terrorist threat.
The Diplomatic Conference on Maritime
Security, held at IMO’s London
Headquarters, was of crucial significance not
only to the international maritime
community but the world community as a
whole, given the pivotal role shipping plays
in the conduct of world trade. It was attended
by 108 Contracting Governments to the 1974
SOLAS Convention, and observers from two
other IMO Member States and two IMO
Associate Members. United Nations
specialized agencies, intergovernmental
organizations and non-governmental
international organizations also sent
observers.
The outcome of the Conference was a
new, comprehensive security regime for
international shipping (which entered into
force on 1 July 2004), representing the
culmination of just over a year’s intense work
by IMO’s MSC and its Intersessional
Working Groups. The Conference adopted a
number of amendments to the 1974 Safety of
Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, the most
far-reaching of which was a new Chapter XI-2
(on Special measures to enhance maritime
security) which enshrines the new
International Ship and Port Facility Security
Code (ISPS Code). This chapter applies to
passenger ships and cargo ships of 500 gross
tonnage and upwards, including high-speed
craft, mobile offshore drilling units and also
applies to port facilities serving such ships
engaged on international voyages.
The Code provides a standardized, consistent framework for evaluating risk, enabling governments to offset changes
in threat with changes in vulnerability for ships and port facilities
14 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 15

Feature • Security Security • Feature
IMO’s ISPS Code – providing an international regulatory
framework for maritime security
The ISPS Code contains detailed securityrelated
requirements for Governments, port
authorities and shipping companies in a
mandatory section (Part A), together with a
series of guidelines about how to meet these
requirements in a second, non-mandatory
section (Part B). The Conference also
adopted a series of resolutions designed to
add weight to the SOLAS amendments,
encourage the application of the measures to
ships and port facilities not covered by the
Code and pave the way for future work on the
subject.
The Conference was subsequently referred
to in the United Nations General Assembly,
which adopted a resolution on "Oceans and
the law of the sea", specifically welcoming
initiatives at the International Maritime
Organization to counter the threat to
maritime security from terrorism and
encouraged States fully to support this
endeavour.
The International Ship and
Port Facility Security Code –
how it works
The purpose of the Code is to provide a
standardized, consistent framework for
evaluating risk, enabling governments to
offset changes in threat with changes in
vulnerability for ships and port facilities. In
essence, it takes the approach that ensuring
the security of ships and port facilities is
basically a risk management activity and that
to determine what security measures are
appropriate, an assessment of the risks must
be made in each particular case.
To begin the process, each Contracting
Government was required to conduct port
facility security assessments. These security
assessments have three essential
components. First, they must identify and
evaluate important assets and infrastructures
critical to the port facility, as well as those
areas or structures that, if damaged, could
cause significant loss of life or damage to the
port facility’s economy or environment.
Then, the assessment must consider the
most likely threats to those
critical assets and infrastructure
in order to prioritise security
measures. Finally, the
assessment must address
vulnerability of the port facility
by identifying its weaknesses in
physical security, structural
integrity, protection systems,
procedural policies,
communications systems,
transportation infrastructure,
utilities, and other areas within a
port facility that may be a likely
target. Once this assessment has
been completed, the Contracting
Government can accurately
evaluate risk.
In order to communicate the
perceived threat at a port facility
or for a ship, the Contracting
Government sets the appropriate
security level. Security levels 1,
2, and 3 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. As the
preamble to the Code states, as
threat increases, the only logical
counteraction is to reduce vulnerability – and
the Code provides several ways to reduce
vulnerabilities, such as monitoring and
controlling access, monitoring the activities
of people and cargo, ensuring security
communications are readily available and
requiring certain types of equipment,
depending on the security level in operation.
The Company and the Ship
Under the terms of the ISPS Code,
shipping companies are required to designate
a Company Security Officer (CSO) for the
company and a Ship Security Officer (SSO)
for each of its ships. The CSO’s
responsibilities include ensuring that a Ship
Security Assessment is properly carried out,
that Ship Security Plans are prepared and
submitted for approval by (or on behalf of)
Shipping companies are required to designate a Company Security Officer
(CSO) for the company and a Ship Security Officer (SSO) for each of its
ships (pic: P&O)
the Administration and thereafter that the
plan is implemented on board each ship.
The Ship Security Plan should indicate the
minimum operational and physical security
measures that the ship itself should
implement at all times (i.e. security level 1)
unless required to operate at a higher
security level. The plan should also indicate
the additional, or intensified, security
measures the ship can take to move to and
operate at security level 2 when instructed to
do so. Furthermore, the plan should indicate
the possible preparatory actions the ship
could take to allow prompt response to
instructions that may be issued to the ship at
security level 3.
Ship Security Officer – the
role of the master?
According to the ISPS Code, it is the
responsibility of the Company and the
Company Security Officer to appoint the Ship
Security Officer. This, naturally, has to be
endorsed by the Administration of the flag
State and/or the Recognized Security
Organization. It should be stressed that
neither the drafting of the definition of the
SSO, nor the provisions of the ISPS Code
relating to his responsibilities, training etc.
are aimed at preventing the master, or any
other person, from being designated as SSO.
The issue of whether the master should be
the SSO, given his many other
responsibilities, was first raised at the IMO’s
Flag State Implementation meeting in March
2004, which recommended to the Maritime
Safety Committee that the master could be
designated and act as SSO. Two months
later the MSC agreed that the definition of
the SSO should be viewed in conjunction
with SOLAS regulation XI-2/8 on “master’s
discretion for ship safety and security”, which
makes it clear that the master has ultimate
responsibility for safety and security.
Regulation XI-2/4 confirms the role of the
master in exercising his professional
judgement over decisions necessary to
maintain the security of the ship. It states that
he shall not be constrained by the company,
the charterer or any other person in this
respect.
The phrase “accountable to the master”,
which is included in the definition of the
Ships, other than passenger ships and tankers, of 300 gross tonnage and upwards but less than 50,000 gross
tonnage, will be required to fit AIS not later than the first safety equipment survey after 1 July 2004 or by
31 December 2004, whichever occurs earlier (pic: Edwards Ship Photos)
SSO, is intended to cover those situations, for
example on large passenger ships, where the
SSO is not the master, by reaffirming that the
master has overall responsibility for security.
There is, therefore, implicitly no intention of
preventing the master from assuming the
duties of SSO, as this would be inconsistent
with SOLAS regulation XI-2/8.
It is, of course, for national Administrations
to decide if they wish to impose particular
restrictions on who may serve as SSOs on
ships flying their flag. This should, however,
not be imposed by national Administrations
on ships not flying their flag through port
State control measures, since this is clearly
the prerogative of the Contracting
Government of the flag State concerned.
The Port Facility
Each Contracting Government has to
ensure completion of a Port Facility Security
Assessment for each port facility within its
territory that serves ships engaged on
international voyages. The Port Facility
Security Assessment is fundamentally a risk
analysis of all aspects of a port facility’s
operation in order to determine which parts
of it are more susceptible to, or more likely to
be the subject of, an attack. Security risk is
seen as a function of the threat of an attack
coupled with the vulnerability of the target
and the consequences of an attack.
The Port Facility Security Assessment
helps determine which port facilities are
required to appoint a Port Facility Security
Officer and prepare a Port Facility Security
Plan. As with the Ship Security Plan, this is
required to indicate the minimum operational
and physical security measures the port
facility will implement at all times (i.e.
security level 1) and also to indicate the
additional, or intensified, security measures
the port facility can take to move to and
operate at security level 2 or 3 when
instructed to do so.
Control and compliance
Under the ISPS Code, ships are required
to carry an International Ship Security
Certificate indicating that they comply with
the requirements of SOLAS chapter XI-2 and
part A of the ISPS Code. When a ship is at a
port or is proceeding to a port of a
Contracting Government, the Contracting
Government has the right, under the
provisions of regulation XI-2/9, to exercise
various control and compliance measures
with respect to that ship. Ships may be
subject to port State control inspections, as
well as to additional control measures if the
Contracting Government exercising the
control and compliance measures has reason
to believe that the security of the ship, or the
port facilities that have served it, has been
compromised.
The relevant authorities may request
information regarding the ship, its cargo,
passengers and ship’s personnel prior to the
16 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 17

Feature • Security Security • Feature
ship’s entry into port and there may be
circumstances in which entry into port could
be denied.
Responsibilities of
Contracting Governments
To summarise, contracting Governments
have various responsibilities, including
approving the Ship Security Plan and relevant
amendments to a previously approved plan,
verifying the compliance of ships with the
provisions of SOLAS chapter XI-2 and part A
of the ISPS Code and issuing the
International Ship Security Certificate,
determining which port facilities located
within their territory are required to
designate a Port Facility Security Officer,
ensuring completion and approval of the Port
Facility Security Assessment and the Port
Facility Security Plan and any subsequent
amendments, exercising control and
compliance measures and setting the
applicable security level. It is also responsible
for communicating information to IMO and
to the shipping and port industries.
SOLAS Contracting Governments can
designate, or establish, Designated
Authorities within Government to undertake
their security duties and allow Recognized
Security Organizations to carry out certain
work with respect to port facilities, but the
final decision on the acceptance and approval
of this work must be given by the
Contracting Government or the Designated
Authority.
Other safety and security
measures
Although of crucial significance for the
ship and port industries, the ISPS Code is far
from being the only new maritime safety and
security provision now in force, and it is
perhaps worthwhile to summarise some of
the less publicised but equally important
measures aimed at enhancing safety and
security on board ships and at ship/port
interface areas that were adopted by the 2002
Conference.
Modifications to SOLAS chapter V (Safety
of Navigation) contain a new timetable for the
fitting of Automatic Information Systems
(AIS). Ships, other than passenger ships and
tankers, of 300 gross tonnage and upwards
but less than 50,000 gross tonnage, will be
required to fit AIS not later than the first
safety equipment survey after 1 July 2004 or
by 31 December 2004, whichever occurs
earlier.
IMO has put a great deal of resource into training in the lead-in to ISPS Code implementation
The existing SOLAS chapter XI (Special
measures to enhance maritime safety) was
re-numbered as Chapter XI-1. Regulation XI-
1/3 was modified to require a ship’s
identification number to be permanently
marked in a visible place either on the ship’s
hull or superstructure. Passenger ships
should carry the marking on a horizontal
surface visible from the air. Ships should also
be marked with their ID numbers internally.
A new regulation XI-1/5 requires ships to
be issued with a Continuous Synopsis Record
(CSR), which is intended to provide an onboard
record of the history of the ship. The
CSR shall be issued by the Administration
and must contain identity-related information
such as the name of the ship and of the State
whose flag the ship is entitled to fly, the date
on which the ship was registered with that
State, the ship’s identification number, the
port at which the ship is registered and the
name of the registered owner(s) and their
registered address. Any changes shall be
recorded in the CSR, so as to provide
updated and current information together
with the history of the changes.
As well as the ISPS Code, the brand-new
chapter XI-2 (Special measures to enhance
maritime security) includes a number of
other important measures.
Regulation XI-2/6 requires all ships to be
provided with a ship security alert system,
according to a strict timetable that will see
most vessels fitted by 2004 and the
remainder by 2006. When activated, the ship
security alert system shall initiate and
transmit a ship-to-shore security alert to a
competent authority designated by the
Administration, identifying the ship, its
location and indicating that the security of
the ship is under threat or that it has been
compromized. It must be capable of being
activated from the navigation bridge and in at
least one other location, but – and this is a
key consideration when dangerous criminals
or terrorists may be on board - the system
will not raise any alarm on-board the ship
itself.
Resolutions adopted by the
Conference
In addition to the two resolutions
introducing the ISPS Code and the other
SOLAS amendments outlined above, the 2002
Diplomatic Conference also adopted nine
other resolutions. Although some dealt with
what are essentially administrative matters,
such as entry-into-force criteria and the
methods by which future amendments
should be adopted, the majority addressed
important, substantive issues and promise to
have a strong impact in the overall endeavour
to improve maritime security.
Conference resolution three, for example,
set the agenda for the Organization in its
future work on the subject, specifically
inviting it to develop, as a matter of urgency,
training guidance, such as model courses for
ship security officers, company security
officers and port facility security officers;
performance standards for ship security
alarms; performance standards and
guidelines for long-range ship identification
and tracking systems; guidelines on control
of ships; and guidelines on “Recognized
security organizations”, and to adopt them in
time before the entry into force of the
amendments to the Convention adopted by
the Conference.
Another addressed the question of longrange
ships’ identification and tracking,
which was recognized as something that
could make a useful contribution to the
enhancement of maritime and coastal States’
security. It urged Governments, as a matter
of high priority, to take any action needed at
national level to begin implementing longrange
identification and tracking of ships and
to encourage ships entitled to fly their flag to
take the necessary measures to be able to
respond automatically to polling. However,
recognizing that there are two sides to every
coin, it also requested Governments to
consider all aspects, including its potential for
misuse (as an aid to ship targeting, for
example) and the need for confidentiality in
respect of the information gathered.
Among the other resolutions adopted by
the conference were two addressing IMO’s
co-operation with other agencies on security
issues, specifically the International Labour
Organization (ILO) and the World Customs
Organization (WCO) and we shall look at
these collaborative efforts in more detail
elsewhere in this paper.
Implementation holds
the key
Even though every new standard adopted
by IMO represents a step forward, it is
virtually worthless without proper
implementation. And, in this particular
context, there is no doubt that the mere
existence of the new regulatory maritime
security regime will provide no guarantee
that acts of terrorism against shipping may
be prevented and suppressed. It is the wide,
effective and uniform implementation of the
new measures that will ensure shipping does
not the soft underbelly of the international
transport system.
One of the most important of the
resolutions adopted by the conference dealt
with this aspect in some detail, referring to
the difficulties that had been experienced
during implementation of the International
Safety Management (ISM) Code and drawing
the attention of Contracting Governments
and the industry to the fact that chapter XI-2
of the SOLAS Convention did not provide for
any extension of the implementation dates for
the new security measures.
It urged Contracting Governments, as a
matter of high priority, to take any action
needed to finalize as soon as possible the
legislative or administrative arrangements
required at national level to give effect to the
requirements of the adopted amendments
and recommended that Contracting
Governments and Administrations should
designate dates, in advance of the application
date of 1 July 2004, by which requests for
certification should be submitted so that the
certification process could be completed in
good time and for any non-compliance to be
rectified.
From the outset, even before the
amendments and the Code were adopted, the
SOLAS Contracting Governments and the
industry knew very well that they were
bound to face a very challenging task. In the
event, there were administrative bottlenecks
in the run up to the deadline, and there were
instances, from all sectors of the maritime
community, where the necessary processes
were started too late.
But, important though it undoubtedly it is,
the administrative process is not the most
critical factor in all this. What really counts is
the work that has been done on the ground:
security officers appointed on ships, in
companies and port facilities; training
undertaken; security plans drawn up;
awareness raised; and vigilance heightened.
The real aim of IMO’s security measures is to
make shipping more secure, and the issuance
of certificates is simply the final part of a
lengthy process, every step of which is a step
in the right direction.
Governments and the shipping and port
industries made major efforts to improve
maritime security in the weeks and months
that followed the 2002 Conference leading up
to the entry into force of the ISPS Code and
all the related security measures. All over the
world, a huge amount of work was
undertaken to ensure the highest possible
level of compliance. Figures made available
by IMO regularly to keep the maritime
community updated on progress being made
indicated that more than 86 per cent of ships
and 69 per cent of port facilities had their
security plans approved by 1 July 2004.
As ever, IMO also recognized that not all
its Member States shared the same ability to
implement the new measures; that,
particularly among the developing countries,
there would be shortages of expertise,
manpower and resources. Another key
conference resolution addressed the vital
question of technical co-operation and
assistance, strongly urging Contracting
Governments to the Convention and Member
States of the Organization to provide, in cooperation
with the Organization, assistance to
those States which have difficulty in meeting
the requirements
It also requested the Secretary-General of
the Organization to make adequate provision,
within the IMO’s Integrated Technical Cooperation
Programme, to strengthen further
the assistance that was already being
provided and to ensure that the Organization
was able to address the future needs of
developing countries for continued education
and training and the improvement of their
maritime and port security infrastructure and
measures, and invited donors, international
organizations and the shipping and port
industry to contribute financial, human
and/or in-kind resources to the Integrated
18 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 19

Feature • Security Security • Feature
The port of Brisbane: the Government of Australia has gone some way towards estimating the costs of the new
security regime
Technical Co-operation Programme of the
Organization for its maritime and port
security activities.
IMO actually launched its global technical
co-operation programme on maritime
security in January 2002, 11 months before
the package of new maritime security
measures was adopted. The aim of the
programme initially was to raise awareness of
maritime security threats and of the possible
future regulatory measures that, at that
stage, were still under development, through
activities such as regional and sub-regional
seminars, workshops and advisory missions.
Subsequently, the emphasis has moved on
to practical approaches to implementation of
the new regulatory regime, with the
development of training programmes and
materials, lesson plans and model courses.
Thousands of personnel from maritime
administrations, shipping companies, ports
and industry and regional organizations have
already been trained as a result of IMO’s
activities and the steady stream of requests to
the Organization for technical assistance in
the field of maritime and port security shows
no sign of slowing down.
The success and continuation of IMO’s
work in this field depends on funding being
made available to support further training
activities. An International Maritime Security
Trust Fund has been established, on the
basis of voluntary donations, to provide a
dedicated source of financial support for the
maritime security technical co-operation
activities and, in particular, for national
initiatives in the developing regions.
Secretary-General Mitropoulos has appealed
to Governments and industry to make
contributions to the Fund in order to support
the programme over the coming biennium.
The cost factor
Of course, it is not just the developing
countries that have had to consider resource
implications in implementing the new
security provisions. Significant and far
reaching measures such as these cannot be
implemented without cost, and while it is
impossible to put a completely accurate
figure on the total cost to the industry and
the various other stakeholders, there have
been some attempts made to do so.
Last year, the OECD published a detailed
report on the risk factors and economic
impact of security in maritime transport. It
reached three broad conclusions. The first
was that the costs of inaction would have
been potentially tremendous. A large, well-coordinated
attack, it said, could have the effect
of shutting down the entire maritime
transport system as governments scrambled
to put in place appropriate security measures
– which might be drastic, such as the
complete closure of some ports, and
inefficient, such as duplicative and lengthy
cargo checks in both originating and
receiving ports. The report estimated that
the cost of such an attack would likely be
measured in tens of billions of dollars, and
quoted a figure of up to US$58 billion for the
United States alone.
The second conclusion – perhaps not
surprisingly – was that some costs are more
easily measured than others, and that those
costs that can be measured with some
precision are significantly less than the costs
of doing nothing. Generally, said the report,
ship-related costs tend to be relatively easy to
ascertain as these involve specific equipment
purchases and labour costs at known
international rates. The OECD estimated the
initial burden on ship owners to be at least
US$1,279 million and US$730 million a year
thereafter. The bulk of ship-related costs are
related to management staff and securityrelated
equipment expenses.
Estimates of port-related security costs are
extremely difficult to derive, says OECD, due
to uncertainty about exactly what the new
measures will mean in terms of additional
personnel requirements coupled with the vast
differences in labour rates that apply.
depending on location. Also very difficult to
estimate are costs derived from procedural
changes: however, OECD estimates that, for
the costs that can be measures, the overall
figure of slightly over US$2 billion is still
substantially below the costs that might
result from a major attack.
Finally, while its main focus had been on
costs, the report also concluded that many of
the new measures had distinct benefits that
were not directly related to their antiterrorism
task. Theses benefits related from
reduced delays, faster processing times,
better asset control, fewer losses due to theft
and decreased insurance costs. For example,
direct savings to US importers through a new
electronic customs manifest handling system
in the US are estimated to be US$22.2bn over
20 years while the US Government would
make savings of US$4.4bn over the same
period, according to the report.
Aside from the OECD report, a number of
individual countries have also attempted to
quantify the financial costs and benefits
associated with the new measures. In the
United States, for example, the Commandant
of the Coast Guard has stated that the US
maritime security regulations will cost the
home industry US$7bn over the next 10
years. The regulations will affect some 10,000
US vessels, 5,000 facilities, 361 ports and 40
offshore facilities.
And, in Australia, the Government
announced in the 2003-04 Federal Budget
that it would allocate A$15.6 million over 2
years to tighten the country’s maritime and
port security by developing enabling
legislation, providing guidance to industry
and ensuring compliance with the ISPS Code.
The Government expects that the
implementation costs to industry will be
A$313 million in the first year with ongoing
costs of up to A$96 million per year
thereafter; while the Australian Shipowners’
Association estimates that the cost for
Australian flagged vessels could be between
A$750,000 and A$900,000 each.
Achieving a balance
Throughout the development of the new
security measures and the implementation
process, IMO has always been at pains to
stress the importance of achieving a proper
balance. This has applied not just in the
cost/benefit equation but in other aspects,
too.
Clearly, there is an overriding imperative
to find a balance between the need to
implement the new security regime strictly
and robustly and yet ensure that disruption
to global trade, as a result of the introduction
of security measures, is kept to a minimum; a
balance between the traditional and legally
enshrined right of ships to enjoy freedom of
navigation on the high seas, and the need to
make sure that strategic and potentially
vulnerable sea lanes have the special
protection they may need must be
established; and while tightening security
provisions so that criminals and terrorists
cannot gain access to ships by posing as
seafarers, ensuring, at the same time, that
innocent seafarers are not themselves
unfairly penalized as a result.
Seafarer issues
The whole question of human elementrelated
aspects and, in particular, of shore
leave for seafarers was dealt with in one very
important resolution Conference resolution.
It urged Governments to take the human
element, the need to afford special protection
to seafarers and the critical importance of
shore leave into account when implementing
the new security provisions. It also
Shore leave for seafarers is a crucial issue and the conference has acknowledged the need for a careful balance
encouraged Governments, Member States of
IMO and non-governmental organizations
with consultative status at the Organization to
report to the Organization any instances
where the human element has been
adversely impacted by the implementation of
the provisions of chapter XI-2 of the
Convention or the Code, and requested the
IMO Secretary-General to bring to the
attention of the Maritime Safety Committee
and the Facilitation Committee of the
Organization any human element-related
problems that may be reported to the
Organization.
This is a theme to which Secretary-
General Mitropoulos has subsequently
returned. Speaking at the opening of the 31st
meeting of the IMO Facilitation Committee in
July this year, he said:
“When, on the eve of the ISPS Code
becoming effective, I appealed to
Governments and port authorities to apply
the Code with a sense of pragmatism and
common sense, my plea was that they should
do so not only when they were dealing with
ships and cargoes but also when dealing with
seafarers serving on ships calling at their
ports. We must not forget that it is on the
seafarers, initiatives, co-operation and
constant vigilance that we rely heavily in
order to prevent breaches of maritime
security. Without their support and
wholehearted commitment to the cause of
security, the system the ISPS Code aims so
meticulously to put in place will be severely
weakened, to the detriment of the overall
effort.”
Mr Mitropoulos added that if, on security
grounds, seafarers face difficulties, such as
refusal of shore leave, they may well feel
somehow rejected or their services not
sufficiently recognized. He pointed out how
important shore leave is to hard-working
professionals reaching port after days or even
weeks of isolation at sea, often after having
faced the elements at their full strength. He
also warned that such restrictions may easily
discourage prospective entrants to the
maritime profession from joining ranks at a
time when the industry is already short of
quality officers worldwide - a situation, which
may worsen in the future to include shortage
of ratings as well.
20 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 21

Feature • Security Security • Feature
He concluded by appealing to
Governments and port authorities to treat
seafarers as partners in the fight against
terrorism and to facilitate their access to
ports and shore facilities. “Ships’ stays in port
are short nowadays,” he said, “and the
seafarer’s free time is limited, so we should
provide them with every opportunity to relax
and recover before they again take their
ships out to sea in pursuit of their peaceful
objectives in the service of world trade.”
Strategic sea lanes
In addition to seafarer issues, another
concern in which finding the right balance is
paramount is the importance of keeping
strategically important shipping lanes secure
and open to international maritime traffic,
thereby ensuring the uninterrupted flow of
world trade. The IMO Secretariat has taken
steps to identify which areas might be
particularly vulnerable and the IMO Council,
at its 92nd meeting earlier this year, shared
the concern of the Secretary-General in this
respect and authorized him to work with
interested parties to find ways in which they
might collaborate - while always observing
the sovereign rights of the coastal States
concerned.
One of the world’s most important, indeed
truly vital, strategic shipping channels is
undoubtedly the Malacca Strait. This 800 km
long and, in places, extremely narrow link
between the Indian Ocean and the South
China Sea is an artery through which runs a
huge proportion of global trade. Tankers and
bulk carriers move vast quantities of oil, coal,
iron ore and grain to the manufacturing
centres of south-east and north-east Asia,
while high-value manufactured goods carried
in millions of containers pour back through
the same outlet to feed consumer markets all
over the world. Some 50,000 ship movements
carrying as much as one quarter of the
world’s commerce and half the world’s oil
pass through the Malacca and Singapore
Straits each year.
Any serious disruption to the flow of
maritime traffic through this channel would
clearly have a widespread and far-reaching
detrimental effect. That is why the
preservation of its integrity is such an
important issue. But being a natural “choke
point” for shipping makes the area
particularly vulnerable, both to operational
and navigational incidents and to the external
threat posed by pirates and armed robbers.
However, with south-east Asia still,
unfortunately, recording the highest number
of pirate attacks globally, there is clearly a
fear that terrorists could resort to pirate-style
tactics, or even work in concert with pirates,
to perpetrate their evil deeds. Although
criminals and terrorists may operate in
similar ways, it should be remembered that
terrorists aim to use their violence in pursuit
of strategic objectives and, all too frequently,
mass destruction: while pirates seek private
gains, terrorists pursue political ones.
Through co-operation, led by the littoral
States of the Malacca and Singapore Straits,
and including other user States and
stakeholders – such as industry
organizations - and by applying various
means of state-of-the-art technology -
including the utilization of the Marine
Electronic Highway project, specifically
designed by IMO for the Malacca Strait - it is
expected that this strategic lane will continue
to remain open to international navigation to
serve the needs of seaborne trade and the
economy – regional and global.
For IMO, balance has been a recurring
theme throughout the entire process of
developing and implementing the new
maritime security regime. The concern had
been expressed that, if the focus were placed
too heavily on “security” and less attention
was paid to other parts of IMO’s
responsibilities, i.e. “safety”, “the
environment” and the “facilitation of maritime
traffic”, then shipping would not be rendered
the good services it deserves. The right
balance had to be struck between the various
objectives involved when legislating, for
example, on inspecting ships for port State
control purposes; and the need for such
balance has been reflected in IMO’s new
mission statement which calls for “Safe,
Secure and Efficient Shipping on Clean
Oceans”.
The wider picture
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has
denounced terrorism as a “global scourge
with global effects”, and it is very much in
the spirit of international co-operation to
counter this universal threat that IMO’s
efforts to improve maritime security should
be seen. They are part of an all-embracing
initiative across the UN system to tackle this
invidious modern-day scourge, to which noone
today is immune.
Since the 9/11 attacks in the United States,
the United Nations has consistently
addressed the issue of terrorism. UN
Security Council resolution 1368 was adopted
the day after the attacks and, since then,
several more UN resolutions have been
adopted to counter terrorism. In December
2002, for example, the UN General Assembly
adopted a resolution on Oceans and the law
of the sea which, among other things,
welcomed the initiatives taken by IMO to
counter the threat to maritime security from
terrorism, and encouraged States to support
that endeavour fully.
One month later, the UN Security Council,
meeting at the level of Ministers for Foreign
Affairs, reaffirmed its position on terrorism
and determined to counter it by a sustained,
comprehensive approach involving the active
participation and collaboration of all States,
international and regional organizations, and
by redoubled efforts at the national level. The
Security Council therefore called for all
States to take urgent action to prevent and
suppress all active and passive support to
terrorism.
Security Council resolution 1456, adopted
on 20 January 2003, requested states to assist
each other to improve their capacity to
prevent and fight terrorism and invited the
Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) to
facilitate the provision of technical and other
assistance by developing targets and
priorities for global action. This resolution
also calls on international organizations to
evaluate ways in which they can enhance the
effectiveness of their action against
terrorism, including establishing dialogue
and exchanges of information with each
other.
Furthermore, at a special meeting of the
Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN
Security Council held in New York in March
2003, participants agreed that all
international, regional and sub-regional
organizations invited had a specific role to
play in enhancing the effectiveness of global
action against terrorism. While each had its
own mandate and its own contribution to
make, all recognized the high value of cooperation
at the global level. They agreed
that their co-ordinated approach to the
suppression of terrorism would include the
sharing of data and best practices and the
avoidance of duplication of effort, while
remaining aware of the need for respect for
the rule of law and human rights’ obligations.
Looking at the wider picture, UN
Secretary-General Annan, in a call for a ‘new
vision of global security’, has appealed to
international and regional organizations to
create a new sense of common endeavour in
their responses to terrorism, weapons of
mass destruction and collapsing states.
At a meeting of more than 30
organizations, including NATO, Interpol and
the League of Arab States, Mr. Annan said
that the “unprecedented” range and diversity
of challenges warranted a “new vision of
global security” drawing on the “resources
and legitimacy of mutually reinforcing
multilateral mechanisms”. He stressed that,
as the world changes, our institutions ought
to keep pace with those changes and we
should not add to our burdens by descending
into unproductive polarisation.
IMO participation
In this context, IMO has striven to work in
co-operation and collaboration with partners
wherever and whenever possible. It has
participated in UN-organized activities, such
as the Special Meeting of the Counter-
Terrorism Committee in March 2003 and the
meeting of the Counter-terrorism Action
Group (established by the G-8 Leaders in
June 2003 to serve as a forum for coordinating
and expanding the provision of
counter-terrorism training and assistance)
held in Washington D.C. USA, in February
this year.
As mentioned previously two of the
resolutions adopted by the 2002 maritime
security conference addressed specifically
IMO’s work in collaboration with the World
Customs Organization (WCO) and the
International Labour Organization (ILO).
One invited the WCO to consider urgently
Co-operation between IMO and WCO has been strengthened by a Memorandum of Understanding to arrange for
matters concerning the examination of containers
measures to enhance security throughout
international closed container transport unit
(CTU) movements and requested the
Secretary-General of IMO to contribute
expertise relating to maritime traffic to the
discussions at the WCO.
The importance of this work in the context
of maritime security cannot be overstated:
the world container fleet was estimated by
Containerisation International’s 2003
Yearbook at some 15,855,000 TEUs. The
reported moves of containers through
maritime ports were estimated at 225,300,000
TEUs in UNCTAD’s “Review of Maritime
Transport 2003”, and experts say this figure
may grow to up to 450 million TEUs by 2010.
Today, according to the Lloyd’s
Register/Fairplay World Fleet database, the
population of dedicated containerships stands
at nearly 4000 units, representing more than
100 million deadweight tonnage.
These figures show not only the
importance of the sea mode of container
transportation but, more significantly, the
serious difficulties encountered in knowing,
at any time in the transportation chain, where
they are, where they are transported to and,
above all, what they contain. Containers are
typically loaded some distance from sea ports
and terminals, hence the importance of close
co-operation between all parties concerned.
Co-operation between IMO and WCO had
already been established, but it was further
strengthened by the signing, in July 2002, of
a Memorandum of Understanding between
the two Organizations to arrange for matters
concerning container examination and
integrity in multimodal transport as well as
matters relating to the ship/port interface.
With regard to seafarer issues, the ILO
was invited by a SOLAS conference
resolution to continue the development of a
Seafarers’ Identity Document as a matter of
urgency. The idea was that this document
would combine, among other things, a
document for professional purposes, a
verifiable security document, and a
certification information document.
Subsequently, the 91st session of the
International Labour Conference (in June
2003) adopted a new Convention on
Seafarers’ Identity Documents to replace the
ILO Convention, which had been adopted in
1958. The new Convention establishes a
more rigorous identity regime for seafarers
with the aim of developing effective security
from terrorism and ensuring that the world’s
1.2 million seafarers will be given the
freedom of movement necessary for their
well-being and for their professional activities
and, in general, to facilitate international
commerce.
22 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 23

Feature
• Security
IMO News
The 2002 Conference on Maritime Security
also invited IMO and ILO to establish a joint
Working Group to undertake more detailed
work on comprehensive port security
requirements. This group has developed an
ILO/IMO Code of Practice on Security in
Ports, which was adopted by the two
Organizations earlier this year.
The future
While acknowledging that after the
September 11 attacks the world would not be
the same again, Mr. Mitropoulos has also
acknowledged that, all over the world, a huge
amount of work had been undertaken in the
period leading up to the entry-into-force date
of the 2002 SOLAS amendments and the ISPS
Code to ensure the highest possible level of
compliance.
“I think we now have to look on the
positive side and remember that the prime
objective of this work has been to increase
awareness of the real and present threat of
terrorism, explain the implications of the
ISPS Code and how best to implement it and,
in so doing, raise the
shipping industry’s
defences to protect it and
seaborne trade from any act
of terrorism. There is no
doubt that that has been
done, the defences are
significantly higher than
they were before, and we
must now ensure that they
continue to rise. While I
appreciate the efforts made
worldwide to achieve the
set objectives, I also
acknowledge with
appreciation the
tremendous work done by
the IMO Secretariat, both
at the legislatory level and
with regard to the provision
of technical assistance and
co-operation, to contribute
to the establishment of an
adequate maritime security
infrastructure to keep
terrorism at bay. Their
commitment and dedication
are most commendable”.
The emphasis now must be placed on
ensuring that security remains a high priority
throughout the industry, even after the
additional impetus given by the entry-intoforce
of the SOLAS amendments and the
ISPS Code has diminished. According to the
IMO Secretary-General, “throughout the
implementation period, IMO has repeatedly
urged Governments and the industry to take
steps to increase awareness of the potential
dangers and to encourage ships’ crews to be
vigilant and alert to any security threat they
may encounter. Great emphasis has been
placed on the entry-into-force date, but the
real challenge is to ensure that, now that that
date has passed, we do not allow ourselves to
relax and adopt a complacent attitude.”
To conclude: In the aftermath of the
attacks in the United States, it seemed
obvious that the global transport
infrastructure was vulnerable, not simply as a
target for terrorist activity but also, in the
wrong hands, as a potentially highly
destructive weapon. Although aircraft were
the chosen weapon of the 9/11 terrorists,
ships might just as easily have been selected
The Limburg attack off Yemen confirmed the vulnerability of the maritime transport infrastructure (Pic: US Navy)
and one only has to consider the
implications of one of the mammoth cruise
ships plying the seas nowadays falling into
the hands of terrorists or of a laden
chemical tanker being hijacked, or of even a
conventional cargo ship loaded with
explosives being blown up in a densely
populated area or of a vital shipping channel
being blocked to see how serious the
consequences of terrorist action involving
ships might be.
The answer to any of these nightmarish
scenarios is multi-faceted, embracing
alertness and vigilance, training,
implementation of the IMO and national
security measures and, more importantly,
co-operation between Governments and the
industry at the national, regional and global
levels. In this way, we may hope that we
never again have to witness terrorist
atrocities such as those that have struck
New York, Washington, Bali, Moscow,
Istanbul, Baghdad, Madrid, the oil tanker
Limburg, the USS Cole and many others,
and that the maritime infrastructure may
never again become a victim.
24 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 25

From the meetings
• Legal Committee (LEG)
• 88th session
• 19 - 23 April 2004
Maritime Safety Committee • From the meetings
78th session •
12 - 21 May 2004 •
Legal Committee adds fair treatment of
seafarers to work programme
Security measures under spotlight at
Maritime Safety Committee
Seafarers – their fair treatment is to
be taken up by the IMO’s Legal
Committee
The Legal Committee of IMO has agreed to
include in its work programme the development
of guidelines on the fair treatment of seafarers. In
doing so, it also endorsed a proposal to establish a
joint IMO/International Labour Organization (ILO)
Working Group on the matter.
This decision followed a proposal that IMO, in cooperation
with ILO, consider the development of
appropriate guidelines based not only on the
principles of UNCLOS but also on the fact that
unwarranted detention was a violation of basic
human rights.
Review of the SUA Convention and
Protocol
The Committee also continued its consideration of
a revised draft protocol to the SUA Convention and
Protocol prepared by the intersessional
Correspondence Group. Most delegations expressed
support for the revision and strengthening of the
SUA Convention to provide a response to the
increasing risks posed to maritime navigation by
terrorism. Nevertheless, several delegations drew
attention to the need to ensure that the prospective
SUA Protocols did not jeopardize the principle of
freedom of navigation and the right of innocent
passage as prescribed in UNCLOS, nor the basic
principles of international law and the operation of
international commercial shipping.
The Committee recognized that, while there
seemed to be general acceptance of the need to
include provisions concerning boarding in the draft
protocol, it was clear that the present draft still
required further consideration. It was also
recognized that the inclusion of boarding provisions
implied a substantial inroad into the fundamental
principles of freedom of navigation on the high seas
and the exclusive jurisdiction of flag States over their
vessels. The Committee accepted that the principle
of flag State jurisdiction must be respected to the
utmost extent, recognizing that the boarding by
officials of a foreign-flag ship on the high seas could
only take place in exceptional circumstances.
Draft Convention on wreck
removal
The Committee continued with its consideration of
the draft Wreck Removal Convention (WRC),
considering four main issues, namely: the application
of the WRC to territorial seas; the exclusion of
liability for acts of terrorism; the identification of the
person normally in charge of the day-to-day
operation of the ship, who might not necessarily be
the registered owner as presently defined in the
draft Convention; and the relationship between the
WRC and the existing liability regimes.
The Committee approved, subject to drafting
improvement, the provisions concerning objectives
and general principles, scope of application,
reporting of wrecks and determination of the hazard.
Interested delegations were invited to continue
working intersessionally under the leadership of the
delegation of the Netherlands to refine the text
further.
Implementation of the HNS
convention
The Committee welcomed information provided
by several delegations reporting work in progress in
their countries towards ratification of the
International Convention on Liability and
Compensation for Damage in Connection with the
Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances
(HNS) by Sea, 1996.
The Committee noted that the International Oil
Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund had nearly
completed the development of an HNS Data Base,
which would include a “cargo calculator” to facilitate
the reporting of contributing HNS Cargo.
The HNS Convention is intended to add a vital
component in the international compensation regime
for pollution damage at sea. At end April 2003, it had
been ratified by four States, representing 1.92 per
cent of world merchant shipping tonnage.
For entry into force, the HNS Convention requires
ratification by 12 States, four of which have not less
than two million units of gross tonnage, provided
that persons in these States who would be
responsible to pay contributions to the general
account have received a total quantity of at least 40
million tonnes of contributing cargo in the preceding
calendar year.
Measures to protect crews and
passengers against crimes
committed on vessels
The Committee was provided with an
interimanalysis by the Comité Maritime
International (CMI) on its ongoing work to examine
State practice on how crimes committed on vessels
on the high seas were handled in different
jurisdictions. The Committee noted some suggested
measures to prevent crimes on vessels, including
establishment of a legal scheme, adoption of a
resolution or other instrument and amendments to
penal codes.
The MSC considered issues relating to the
implementation of the maritime security
measures which enter into force on 1 July
2004.
Recognizing that consistent, uniform and
harmonized implementation of the control
and compliance measures will contribute
towards the enhancement of maritime
security, it adopted resolution MSC.159(78)
on Interim Guidance on Control and
Compliance Measures to Enhance Maritime
Security.
The Committee once more acknowledged
the need for a proper balance between the
needs of security, the protection of the
human rights of seafarers and port workers,
and the requirement to maintain the safety
and working efficiency of the ship,
particularly when allowing access for
activities such as taking on board stores,
repair and maintenance of essential
equipment and other vital activities
undertaken when a ship is moored at port
facilities.
An MSC Circular on Guidelines for the
Implementation of SOLAS chapter XI-2 and
the ISPS Code was approved, providing
guidance on security measures and
procedures to be applied at the ship/port
interface when either the ship or the port
facility do not comply with the requirements
of chapter XI-2 and of the ISPS Code; security
measures and procedures to be applied by a
ship, which is required to comply with the
requirements of chapter XI-2 and the ISPS
Code, when it interfaces with an FPSO or an
FSU; and implementation of the ISPS Code
in relation to shipyards.
Fire and flooding thresholds
and timeframes
The MSC agreed that, as a general
principle, casualty thresholds (extent of
damage) should be prepared to stipulate the
amount of damage a ship must be able to
withstand and still be able to return safely to
port under its own power. In addition, the
Committee agreed that, even if this casualty
threshold is exceeded, a ship is to remain
habitable for a minimum period of time to
allow for its safe and orderly abandonment.
To this end, the MSC approved casualty
thresholds for fire and flooding and agreed a
“time to remain habitable” of three
hours. The Sub-Committees will
use these criteria in the
development of appropriate
requirements.
Goal-based new ship
construction
standards
The MSC examined in detail the
concept that IMO should develop
“goal-based” standards for ships’
construction and equipment and
agreed that a Working Group
should meet at the next session, in
December (MSC 79).
The Working Group should
bear in mind environmental,
human element and security
issues, the MSC agreed.
The premise behind the
development of goal-based
standards is that IMO should play a larger
role in determining the fundamental
standards to which new ships are built.
There is no intention that IMO would take
over the detailed work of the classification
societies, but rather that IMO would state
what has to be achieved, leaving classification
societies, ship designers and naval architects,
marine engineers and ship builders the
freedom to decide on how best to employ
their professional skills to meet the required
standards.
At present there is no international
legislation or guidance on these matters.
Therefore the MSC is expected to consider
the introduction of a mechanism to ensure
harmonised, internationally agreed
standards, under the umbrella of IMO.
Bulk carrier safety
The MSC approved proposed amendments
to SOLAS chapter XII (Additional safety
measures for bulk carriers), with a view to
subsequent adoption at MSC 79 in December
2004.
The draft amendments propose the
replacement of the existing text of chapter
XII with a new text incorporating revisions to
some regulations and new requirements
relating to double-side skin bulk carriers.
The MSC is examining the proposal the IMO develop “goal-based”
standards for ship construction
The MSC agreed the addition of a new
regulation 14 on Restrictions from sailing
with any hold empty.
The MSC agreed to include requirements
for double-side skin construction as an
optional alternative to single-side skin
construction. The option of double-side skin
construction would apply to new bulk
carriers of 150m in length and over, carrying
solid bulk cargoes having a density of 1,000
kg/m3 and above.
In addition, the MSC approved an
amendment to SOLAS regulation 31 in
chapter III (Life-saving appliances and
arrangements) to make mandatory the
carriage of free-fall lifeboats on bulk carriers,
for adoption at MSC 79.
The MSC also approved for future
adoption the draft MSC resolution on
Standards and criteria for side structures of
bulk carriers of single-side skin construction
and the draft MSC resolution on Standards
for owners’ inspections and maintenance of
bulk carrier hatch covers.
The Committee approved MSC circulars
on Guidelines for assessing the longitudinal
strength of bulk carriers during loading,
unloading and ballast water exchange and
Guidance for checking the structure of bulk
carriers.
26 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org. www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 27

From the meetings
• Maritime Safety Committee
• 78th session
• 12 - 21 May 2004
Maritime Safety Committee • From the meetings
78th session •
12 - 21 May 2004 •
Permanent means of access
–SOLAS amendments
The MSC adopted amendments to SOLAS
regulation 3-6 in chapter II-1 (Construction -
Subdivision and stability, machinery and
electrical installations) on Access to and
within spaces in the cargo area of oil tankers
and bulk carriers (resolution MSC.134(76))
and to the associated Technical Provisions for
means of access for inspections (resolution
MSC.133(76)). The amendments are
expected to enter into force on 1 January
2006.
The resolution adopting the amendment
includes a paragraph under which the flag
State Administration may provisionally apply
the amended regulation to new ships to be
constructed on or after 1 January 2005
instead of applying the original requirements
of regulation II-1/3-6.
The Committee also approved an MSC
circular on the Application of SOLAS
regulation II-1/3-6 on Access to and within
spaces in, and forward of, the cargo area of
oil tankers and bulk carriers - Application of
the Technical provisions for means of access
for inspections, drawing the attention of the
Member States to the provisions for their
provisional early application as from 1
January 2005.
Persons rescued at sea -
amendments to SOLAS and
SAR adopted
The MSC (expanded to include all SOLAS
Contracting Governments and SAR Parties)
adopted amendments to the SOLAS and SAR
Amendments to the Search and Rescue Convention
were adopted by MSC 78 (pic: Finnish Lifeboats)
Conventions concerning the treatment of
persons rescued at sea, and/or asylum
seekers, refugees and stowaways. The
amendments were developed in response to
resolution A.920 on Review of safety
measures and procedures for the treatment
of persons rescued at sea, adopted by IMO’s
22nd Assembly following a number of
incidents that highlighted concerns
surrounding the treatment of persons
rescued at sea.
The prime concern with respect to such
incidents was that, unless the matter was
considered in all its aspects and appropriate
action was taken, there might be a negative
impact on the integrity of the global search and
rescue system which IMO has put in place.
The amendments include:
• SOLAS – chapter V (Safety of Navigation)
– to add a definition of search and rescue
services; to set an obligation to provide
assistance, regardless of nationality or
status of persons in distress, and mandate
co-ordination and co-operation between
States to assist the ship’s master in
delivering persons rescued at sea to a
place of safety; and to add a new regulation
on master’s discretion. The SOLAS
amendments are expected to enter into
force on 1 July 2006,
• SAR – Annex to the Convention – addition
of a new paragraph in chapter 2
(Organization and co-ordination) relating
to definition of persons in distress, new
paragraphs in chapter 3 (Co-operation
between States) relating to assistance to
the master in delivering persons rescued at
sea to a place of safety and a new
paragraph in chapter 4 (Operating
procedures) relating to rescue coordination
centres initiating the process of
identifying the most appropriate places for
disembarking persons found in distress at
sea. The SAR amendments are expected to
enter into force on 1 January 2006.
The MSC also adopted related Guidelines
on the treatment of persons rescued at sea.
Adoption of ships’ routeing measures
The MSC adopted the following ships’ routeing and other measures, which will take effect
on 1 December 2004 at 0000 hours UTC, except for the amendment to the TSS “In the
Singapore Strait”, which will take effect from 1 January 2005 at 0000 hours UTC:
•New traffic separation schemes (TSSs)
- “Off Ra’s al Kuh”;
- “Approaches to the Port of Ra’s al Khafji”; and -
- “In the Adriatic Sea”.
•Amendments to existing TSSs
- Amendment to the existing traffic separation scheme “Between Korsoer and Sprogoe”
- Amendment to the separation zone of the TSS in the Singapore Straits, by which a space for
an anchorage area would be released, to take effect on 1 January 2005 at 0000 hours UTC.
•Routeing measures other than TSSs
- Mandatory area to be avoided off the north east coast of the North Island of New Zealand.
- Amendment of the existing charting measure in the Great North East Channel of the
Torres Strait, off the north east coast of Australia to a two-way route.
- Establishment of an Area to be Avoided (ATBA) in the Paracas National Reserve.
•Mandatory Ship Reporting Systems
- Amendments to the existing mandatory Ship Reporting System “in the Torres Strait and
Inner Route of the Great Barrier Reef”, off the North East coast of Australia (REEFREP).
- Amendments to the existing mandatory ship reporting system “Off Cape Finisterre”.
Archipelagic sea lanes – amendments to Ships’ Routeing
The Committee adopted amendments to the General Provisions on Ships’ Routeing
(resolution A.527(14), as amended), concerning the adoption, designation and substitution of
archipelagic sea lanes (paragraph 3.13 of Section H (IMO publication “Ships’ Routeing)).
The aim is to provide guidance with regard to
humanitarian obligations and obligations
under the relevant international law.
Global SAR plan -
international SAR Fund
agreed
The MSC agreed to establish an
international Search and Rescue (SAR) Fund
as soon as possible to support the
establishment and continued maintenance of
regional Maritime Rescue Co-ordination
Centres (MRCCs) and Maritime Rescue Sub-
Centres (MRSCs) along the African
coastlines.
Preventing accidents with
lifeboats – amendments to
SOLAS
The expanded MSC adopted amendments
to SOLAS chapter III (Life-saving appliances
and arrangements) which are intended to
help prevent accidents with lifeboats during
drills. The amendments, which are expected
to enter into force on 1 July 2006, stem from
work by the Sub-Committee on Ship Design
and Equipment (DE) intended to address the
unacceptably high number of accidents with
lifeboats that have been occurring over
recent years. Crew have been injured,
sometimes fatally, while participating in
lifeboat drills and/or inspections.
The amendments to Regulation 19
(Emergency training and drills) and
Regulation 20 (Operational readiness,
maintenance and inspections) concern the
conditions in which lifeboat emergency
training and drills should be conducted and
introduce changes to the operational tests to
be conducted during the weekly and monthly
inspections, so as not to require the assigned
crew to be on board in all cases.
The MSC also approved a circular on
Prevention of accidents in high free-fall
launching of life boats, in view of recent
reports of injuries sustained during launches
of free-fall lifeboats from heights greater than
20 metres
Carriage of immersion suits –
amendments to SOLAS
The MSC adopted amendments to SOLAS
chapter III Regulation 32 – Personal lifesaving
appliances to make changes to the
number of immersion suits to be carried on
all cargo ships. The amendments introduce
carriage requirements for one immersion suit
per person on board all cargo ships,
including bulk carriers. At present, the
regulation requires carriage of at least three
immersion suits for each lifeboat on a cargo
ship, as well as thermal protective aids for
persons not provided with immersion suits.
With the adoption of the proposed
amendments, which are expected to enter
into force on 1 July 2006, immersion suits will
become, as lifejackets, a personal life-saving
appliance for each person on board thus
offering better thermal protection and
improved chance of survival and rescue. The
MSC also adopted consequential
amendments to the 1988 SOLAS Protocol
relating to the records of equipment.
IMDG Code amendments
including security
Resolutions adopted by MSC 78
The MSC adopted amendments to the
International Maritime Dangerous Goods
(IMDG) Code. The amendments update
several sections of the Code relating to the
carriage of dangerous goods and also include
a new chapter 1.4 on Security Provisions
intended to address the security of
dangerous goods being transported by sea.
The amendments are expected to enter into
force on 1 January 2006, but may be applied
on a voluntary basis from 1 January 2005.
Resolution MSC.151(78) - Adoption of amendments to the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended
Resolution MSC.152(78) - Adoption of amendments to the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended
Resolution MSC.153(78) - Adoption of amendments to the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended
Resolution MSC.154(78) - Adoption of amendments to the Protocol of 1988 relating to the
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974
Resolution MSC.155(78) - Adoption of amendments to the International Convention on
Maritime Search and Rescue, 1979, as amended
Resolution MSC.156(78) - Adoption of amendments to the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping (STCW) Code
Resolution MSC.157(78) - Adoption of amendments to the International Maritime Dangerous
Goods (IMDG) code
Resolution MSC.158(78) - Adoption of amendments to the technical provisions for means of
access for inspections
Resolution MSC.159(78) - Interim guidance on control and compliance measures to enhance
maritime security
Resolution MSC.160(78) - Adoption of the IMO unique company and registered owners
identification number scheme
Resolution MSC.161(78) - Amendments to the existing mandatory ship reporting system “In
the Torres strait and inner route of the Great Barrier Reef”
Resolution MSC.162(78) - Amendments to the existing mandatory ship reporting system “Off
Cape Finisterre”
Resolution MSC.163(78) - Performance standards for shipborne simplified voyage data
recorders (S-VDR)
Resolution MSC.164(78) - Revised performance standards for radar reflectors
Resolution MSC.165(78) - Adoption of amendments to the General Provisions on Ship’s
Routeing (resolution A.572(14), as amended)
Resolution MSC.166(78)- Application of performance standards for marine transmitting heading
devices (THDS) to marine transmitting magnetic heading devices
(TMHDS)
Resolution MSC.167(78) - Guidelines on the treatment of persons rescued at sea
28 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 29

From the meetings
• Maritime Safety Committee
• 78th session
• 12 - 21 May 2004
Technical Co-operation Committee • From the meetings
54th session •
15 - 17 June 2004 •
TCC meeting acknowledges continuing
work on maritime and port security
Implementation of the revised
STCW Convention
The MSC approved the updated list of
Parties which included two additional STCW
Parties approved at the session deemed to be
giving full and complete effect to the
provisions of the International Convention on
Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as
amended.
Simplified Voyage Data
Recorders – SOLAS
amendments approved
The MSC agreed with the
recommendation of the Sub-committee on
Safety of Navigation (NAV) that retrofitting
existing cargo ships with Voyage Data
Recorders (VDR) was feasible and desirable
and that a simplified VDR (S-VDR) should be
specified for existing cargo ships.
The MSC therefore approved – with a
view to adoption at MSC 79 - draft
amendments to regulation 20 of SOLAS
chapter V (Safety of Navigation) on a phasedin
carriage requirement for a shipborne S-
VDR. The draft regulation requires a VDR,
which may be a S-VDR, to be fitted to cargo
ships above 3,000 gross tonnage. The
proposed draft regulation would phase in the
requirement for cargo ships over 20,000
gross tonnage first, by 2007, to be followed
by cargo ships above 3,000 gross tonnage, by
2008.
The MSC also adopted resolution
MSC.163(78)on Performance Standards for
shipborne simplified voyage data recorders
(S-VDRs).
Unique company number
scheme
The MSC adopted a scheme to implement
the IMO Unique Company and Registered
Owners Identification Number Scheme. The
aim is to facilitate the enhancement of
maritime safety, security and pollution
prevention and the prevention of maritime
fraud by assigning a permanent identification
number to companies and registered
organizations which will be inserted on ships’
certificates.
Piracy and armed robbery
against ships
The MSC reviewed the reports on
incidents of piracy and armed robbery
against ships submitted to IMO and
welcomed developments in the
implementation of the co-ordinated plan of
action to tackle piracy and armed robbery
against ships through regional agreements.
The number of acts of piracy and armed
robbery against ships, which were reported
to the Organization to have occurred or to
have been attempted in 2003, was 456, an
increase of 69 (18%) over the figure for 2002.
The areas most affected in 2003 (i.e. five
incidents reported or more) were the Far
East, in particular the South China Sea and
the Malacca Strait, South America and the
Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, West Africa,
and East Africa. The number of acts reported
to have occurred or to have been attempted
increased from 140 to 152 in the South China
Sea; from 66 to 96 in the Indian Ocean; from
67 to 72 in South America and the Caribbean;
from 47 to 67 in West Africa; and from 34 to
38 in the Malacca Strait, over the 2002
figures. However, the numbers decreased
from 3 to 1 in the Mediterranean Sea and
from 24 to 22 in East Africa, compared with
the 2002 figures.
During 2003, 13 crew members were
reportedly killed, including two passengers
and six military personnel, 45 persons were
wounded and 54 crew went missing.
Amongst those still missing to date and
unaccounted for are 11 crew members
including three crew members thrown
overboard. Eleven ships were hijacked and
11 went missing, whilst one ship was set
ablaze and one ship was run aground.
List of circulars approved by MSC 78
MSC/Circ.1107
MSC/Circ.1108
MSC/Circ.1109
MSC/Circ.1110
MSC/Circ.1111
MSC/Circ.1112
MSC/Circ.1113
MSC/Circ.1114
MSC/Circ.1115
MSC/Circ.1116
MSC/Circ.1117
MSC/Circ.1118
MSC/Circ.1119
MSC/Circ.1120
MSC/Circ.1121
MSC/Circ.1122
MSC/Circ.1123
MSC/Circ.1124
Application of SOLAS regulation II-1/3-6 on Access to and within spaces
in, and forward of, the cargo area of oil tankers and bulk carriers and
application of the Technical provisions for means of access for inspections
Guidelines for assessing the longitudinal strength of bulk carriers during
loading, unloading and ballast water exchange
False security alerts and distress/security double alerts
Matters related to SOLAS regulations XI-2/6 and XI-2/7
Guidance relating to the implementation of SOLAS chapter XI-2 and the
ISPS Code
Shore leave and access to ships under the ISPS Code
Guidance to port State control officers on the non-security related
elements of the 2002 SOLAS amendments
Guidelines for periodic testing of immersion suit and anti-exposure suit
seams and closures
Prevention of accidents in high free-fall launching of lifeboats
Unified interpretations of the IBC and IGC Codes
Guidance for checking the structure of bulk carriers
Implementation of SOLAS regulation V/9 - Hydrographic services
Ship/terminal interface improvement for bulk carriers
Unified interpretations of the revised SOLAS chapter II-2
Parties to the International Convention on Standards of Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as amended,
confirmed by the Maritime Safety Committee to have communicated
information which demonstrates that full and complete effect is given to
the relevant provisions of the Convention
Adoption of the revised NAVTEX Manual
Guidelines on annual testing of L-band satellite EPIRBs
Amendments to the IAMSAR Manual
IMO’s US$2.65 million Global Programme
on Maritime and Port Security, which
began in January 2002, will be continuing
beyond the 1 July 2004 international deadline
for implementation of the maritime security
measures adopted by IMO in December
2002, the 54th session of the technical Cooperation
Committee heard.
The meeting was informed that total
expenditure on the Programme to date was
US$2,525,304. Worldwide activities had
included 18 regional and 42 national
seminars/workshops. Some 3,320 people had
been trained throughout ports in the
developing regions. The steady stream of
requests to the Organization for technical
assistance in the field of maritime and port
security showed no sign of slowing and
demand from Member States for practical
assistance in the implementation of the
International Ship and Port Facility Security
Code (ISPS Code) and other security
measures adopted by IMO is expected to
continue.
To support this, the committee heard, a
new “Train-the-Trainer” programme has been
developed which will assist Governments to
strengthen their maritime security
implementation through the provision of
trained instructors capable of delivering
quality training at regional and national levels
using relevant IMO Model Courses. The
Train-the-Trainer programme is being
initiated in the second half of the 2004,
initially in the Asia-Pacific region. The target
audience will be instructors from national
maritime training institutions responsible for
maritime security training courses.
The Programme’s success and
continuation depends, inevitably, on funding
to be made available to support those
further training activities. The Committee
was updated on the status of the
International Maritime Security Trust Fund
(IMSTF), which has been established on the
basis of voluntary donations, and welcomed
the news that Canada, Denmark, Egypt,
Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom and
United States had either made donations, or
had pledged monies, totalling some
US$585,000. The Committee appealed to
Member States and the maritime industry to
contribute to the IMST Fund and urged
those who had made or pledged
contributions to the IMST Fund to encourage
others to do the same.
IMO training institutes
The Committee was updated on the work
of the three training institutes operating
under the auspices of IMO.
IMO World Maritime University
(WMU)
The Committee noted that to date, a total
of 1,983 alumni had graduated from WMU
from 142 countries and territories worldwide
and the demand for places at the University
far outstripped its existing capacity.
The increasing sponsorship of Professorial
Chairs at the University was a significant
factor contributing to its high academic
capability, international reputation and
financing, the Committee heard. There are
six Professorial Chairs, sponsored and
funded by Inmarsat Ltd., the International
Transport Workers’ Federation, the Nippon
Foundation (three) and the Government of
Canada.
The Committee was informed of the
successful completion in early 2004 of a TCCinitiated
pilot project activity undertaken by
the WMU. The IMO Model Course on
“Marine Accident and Incident Investigation”
has been converted into a user-paced, selfmotivated
training programme on a CD-Rom.
IMO is considering the possibility of
converting other IMO model courses, such
as those on ship, company and port security
officers, into an “e-learning” format.
IMO International Maritime
Law Institute (IMLI)
IMLI has had a total of 302 graduates from
98 States and territories and demand for
places remains high. The Committee was
informed of support secured by the Institute,
including ten scholarships from the Nippon
Foundation of Japan for the financial year
2004/2005; a commitment from the TC Fund
to provide six scholarships in the financial
year 2004/2005; a pledge from the
Government of Switzerland, through the
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation,
to continue its financial support
The committee heard of considerable progress for IMO’s Programme for the Integration of Women in the Maritime Sector
30 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 31

From the meetings
• Technical Co-operation Committee
• 54th session
• 15 - 17 June 2004
Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation • From the meetings
50th session •
5 - 9 July 2004 •
during the financial year 2003/2004 together
with a direct financial support, amounting to
_21,270 per annum, for a further three years
until the 2006/2007 financial year; two
scholarships from the Ports and Shipping
Organization of Iran in 2003/2004; two
scholarships from Saudi Aramco of Saudi
Arabia in 2003/2004; a scholarship each from
Kenya Ports Authority, the Joint Dock
Labour Council of Nigeria, the National
Maritime Authority of Nigeria and the
Government of Tanzania in 2003/2004; and
an ad hoc contribution of £4,600 from the
Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation
for 2003/2004.
The Government of Malta, in addition to
providing IMLI’s premises at no charge, has
paid the final instalment towards its
commitment to subsidize partially the
recently completed extension to the
premises. Malta ahs also made annual
contributions towards the Institute’s
maintenance and servicing costs.
IMO International Maritime
Academy (IMA)
The Committee was updated on the
courses held at IMA during 2003 and
scheduled for 2004, including the twelfth Flag
State Implementation and Port State Control
course.
The IMA model course on nautical
cartography has been awarded international
recognition by the International Advisory
Board on Standards of Competence for
Hydrographers and Nautical Cartographers,
in May 2004. It is the first course on this
topic to receive international recognition.
The Secretary-General thanked the
Government of Italy and other donors to
IMA, namely, the Province of Trieste, the
European Union, the International
Hydrographic Organization and the Regione
Autonoma Fruili Venezia Giulia, for their
sustained support which has enabled the
Academy to continue its invaluable work.
Women in the Maritime Sector
The IMO Programme for the Integration of
Women in the Maritime Sector (IWMS), is
now into its 15th year of operation since its
inception in 1989, the Committee was told.
A key event in the last 12 months had been
a regional seminar on The role of women in
the maritime sector: opportunities and
challenges in Apia, Samoa, in October 2003.
The guest speakers included a number of
women holding senior posts in the maritime
industry in the region, whose presentations
provided an invaluable insight into the
impediments which face women who are
seeking to train or to work in the maritime
sector.
A number of delegations expressed their
support for and commitment to the IWMS
programme. The delegation of Canada
informed the Committee that 25 per cent of
graduates from the Coastguard College
(Canada) in 2003 were women, with a figure
of 77 per cent in 2004. The delegation of
Brazil stated that women currently
represented 31 per cent of students in the
national naval academies. One female captain
has recently graduated. The delegation of
Nigeria noted the support given by the
Minister for Transport of Nigeria for the
establishment of a National Maritime
Women’s Association.
PORT STATE CONTROL
LONDON, 14 – 24 March, 2005
This widely recognised and practical intensive course is now in its 17th successive year. The course is designed
especially for officials in national marine departments, port or terminal operators, ship managers and shipowners.
The course covers in detail the major IMO conventions and codes along with other relevant international regulations
and conventions, inspection systems and documentation. Special sections of the course concentrate on the ISPS
code.
The Course is taught by an experienced team of academics and practitioners from the
UK, USA and Europe.
Venue: Senate House, University of London
Fees: Sterling £2,600
The course is conducted by the Centre for Maritime Co-operation
of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Further details can be obtained from:
Miss Angeles Aguado, Course Co-ordinator
ICC Centre for Maritime Co-operation
Maritime House, 1 Linton Road, Barking, Essex IG11 8HG, United Kingdom
Tel: ++ 44 20 8591 3000 Fax: ++ 44 20 8594 2833
E-mail: cmc@icc-ccs.org.uk Web: www.icc-ccs.org.uk
Nav approves revised radar performance
standards
The Nav Sub-Committee approved revised
performance standards for radar
equipment and approved the draft MSC
resolution on adoption of the revised
performance standards for radar equipment
for submission to the MSC.
The Sub-Committee agreed that there was
a further need for the development of
guidelines on installation of shipborne radar
equipment and navigation-related definitions.
The revised standards are intended to
respond to the need for unification of
maritime radar standards in general and, in
particular, for display and presentation of
navigation-related information. The revised
standards also take into account that marine
radars are used in connection or integrated
with other navigational equipment required
to be carried on board ships such as, an
automatic target tracking aid, ARPA, AIS,
ECDIS and others.
Routeing of ships, ship
reporting and related matters
The Sub-Committee approved the
following for submission to the MSC for
adoption:
New traffic separation schemes (TSSs)
• Approaches to the Cape Fear river (United
States)
•Off Mina Al-Ahmadi (Kuwait)
Amendments to existing TSSs
• Amendments to the traffic separation
schemes in Puget Sound and its
approaches in Haro Strait, Boundary Pass
and in the Strait of Georgia (Canada and
the United States)
• Amendments to the traffic separation
scheme in the approaches to Chesapeake
Bay (United States)
• Amendments to the traffic separation
schemes Off Cape Roca and Off Cape S.
Vicente (Portugal)
• Revoking of the traffic separation scheme
Off the Berlengas Islands (Portugal)
• Amendments to the traffic separation
scheme in the approaches to Puerto San
Martin (Peru)
Routeing measures other than TSSs
• Establishment of an Area to be Avoided
and a mandatory No-Anchoring Area in the
West Cameron Area of the Gulf of Mexico
(United States)
• Amendments to the Notes in the existing
deep-water route in the southern approach
to Chesapeake Bay (United States)
• Establishment of an Area to be Avoided in
the region of the Berlengas Islands
(Portugal)
Amendments to General
Provisions on Ships’ Routeing
The Sub-Committee approved proposals to
amend the General Provisions on Ships’
Routeing and Guidelines and Criteria for Ship
Reporting Systems to standardize the use of
WGS 84 datum. The proposed amendments
will be forwarded to the MSC for adoption.
Proposed compulsory
pilotage in the Torres Strait
The Sub-Committee considered the
proposal for compulsory pilotage in the
Torres Strait as an associated protective
measure, following the Marine Environment
Protection Committee’s approval in principle,
in July 2003 (MEPC 49), of a proposal from
Australia and Papua New Guinea for the
extension of the Great Barrier Reef PSSA to
cover the Torres Strait Region, together with
the associated protective measures.
The Sub-Committee noted that the
Working Group on Ships’ Routeing agreed
that the proposed compulsory pilotage in the
Torres Strait was operationally feasible and
largely proportionate to provide protection to
the marine environment. The Sub-Committee
also noted the opinion of a number of
delegations that there is no clear legal basis
to adopt a compulsory pilotage regime in
straits used for international navigation.
The Sub-Committee therefore invited
MEPC 52, in October 2004, to refer the legal
issue of compulsory pilotage in such straits
to the Legal Committee meeting later in
October (LEG 89), in order to enable MSC
79, in December 2004, to consider the
proposal with the legal basis resolved.
Marine radar equipment – new performance standards
approved (pic: Kelvin Hughes)
The Sub-Committee also requested the
MSC to consider whether there may be a
need to develop guidelines and criteria for
compulsory pilotage in straits used for
international navigation, notwithstanding the
diverse views of delegations regarding a legal
basis for such a regime.
New Ship Reporting System in
Western European Waters
PSSA approved
The Sub-Committee approved the
establishment of a new mandatory Ship
Reporting System as an associated protective
measure in the Western European Waters
PSSA. The Western European Waters PSSA
was approved in principle by the MEPC at its
49th session in July 2003.
Presentation of navigationrelated
information
The Sub-Committee approved the draft
MSC resolution on Performance Standards
for the Presentation of Navigation-related
Information on Shipborne Navigational
Displays and endorsed the draft SN/Circ. on
Guidelines for the presentation of navigationrelated
symbols, terms and abbreviations for
submission to MSC 79.
32 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 33

From the meetings
• Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation
• 50th session•
• 5 - 9 July 2004
Facilitation Committee • From the meetings
31st session •
19 - 23 July 2004 •
Committee approves FAL Convention
amendments
Navigation sections of Fishing
Vessel Code and Guidelines
approved
The Sub-Committee approved the
proposed amendments to the draft revised
chapter X of the Fishing Vessel Safety Code
and to the draft revised chapter 10 of the
draft revised Voluntary Guidelines, for
submission to the Sub-Committee on Stability
and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels Safety
(SLF), which is co-ordinating revision of the
Code and Guidelines.
Uniform application of
COLREG Rule 1(e)
The Sub-Committee endorsed the draft
MSC circular providing additional guidance
for uniform application of COLREG Rule 1(e)
and forwarded it to the MSC for approval.
COLREG Rule 1(e) states that “when a
vessel of special construction or purpose
cannot comply fully with the provisions of any
of these rules with respect to number,
position, range or arc of visibility of lights or
shapes, as well as to the disposition and
characteristics of sound-signalling appliances,
such vessel shall comply with such other
provisions in regard to number, position,
range or arc of visibility of lights or shapes,
as well as to the disposition and
characteristics of sound-signalling appliances
as her Government shall have determined to
be the closest possible compliance with these
rules in respect of that vessel.”
Use of the destination-field in
AIS messages
The Sub-Committee endorsed the draft
SN/Circ. on Guidance on the use of
UN/LOCODE in the destination field in AIS
messages. The draft circular proposes use of
the UN/LOCODE in a standardized way in
the AIS destination field, which would
eliminate confusion and allow automatic
processing of the information.
Use of ECDIS to be evaluated
The Sub-Committee agreed to establish a
correspondence group to evaluate the use of
ECDIS and look at possible changes to the
carriage requirements for ECDIS. The group
will submit a report to NAV 51 in July 2005.
The Facilitation Committee approved draft
amendments to the FAL Convention intended to
modernise the Convention to enhance the facilitation
of international maritime traffic and take into
account the revised Kyoto Convention on the
Simplification of Customs Procedures, established
under the auspices of the World Customs
Organization.
The proposed amendments include the following:
• the use of risk management to enhance border
control procedures to facilitate the legitimate
circulation of persons and goods
• a proposed draft Recommended Practice that
public authorities should develop procedures to
use pre-arrival and pre-departure information to
facilitate the processing of information required
by public authorities to expedite release and
clearance of cargo and persons
• a draft Recommended Practice that all
information should be submitted to a single point
to avoid duplication
• encouragement of electronic transmission of
information
• the addition of reference to the International Ship
and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code and
SOLAS chapter XI-2 in the Standards and
Recommended Practices which mention security
measures.
If adopted as intended at the next FAL Committee
session, in July 2005, the entry into force date would
be set as 1 January 2007.
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) and the International Organization
for Migration.
The meeting noted that the SOLAS and SAR
amendments relating to persons rescued at sea
(which were adopted in May 2004) would, if
accepted by Member States, place for the first time,
obligations on Contracting Governments to “coordinate
and co-operate” in progressing the matter
so that assisted survivors are disembarked from the
assisting ship and delivered to a place of safety
within a reasonable time.
The meeting reaffirmed the need for the
development of a common approach at the UN interagency
level. It also agreed that IMO had completed
its work in closing the gap identified in the
regulations relating to search and rescue and
delivery to a place of safety. Any further
supplementary guidance would only be required for
the post-rescue phase and was beyond IMO’s remit.
Development of explanatory
manual on FAL Convention
The Committee approved the framework for the
development of a draft explanatory manual on the
FAL Convention. The aim is to adopt the manual in
2006. A correspondence group was established to
develop it.
The Committee agreed a standard
minimum data-set that ships could
expect to be required to transmit
prior to entry into port
Persons rescued at sea
The Committee also approved a proposed FAL
amendment relating to persons rescued at sea, to be
included in a standard in Section 2 - Arrival, stay and
departure of the ship. The proposed amendment
would require public authorities to facilitate the
arrival and departure of ships engaged in the rescue
of persons in distress at sea in order to provide a
place of safety for such persons.
The Committee was informed that a second
meeting of the United Nations inter-agency initiative
relating to the rescue of persons in distress at sea
was held at IMO Headquarters (12 July 2004),
chaired by IMO. It was attended by representatives
of the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of
the Sea (DOALOS) – which on this occasion also
represented the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC), the Office of the United Nations
34 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 35

From the meetings
• Facilitation Committee
IMO at work
• 31st session
• 19 - 23 July 2004
Security issues - standard
minimum data required prior
to port entry
The facilitation aspects of implementing
the maritime security measures which
entered into force on 1 July 2004, including
the ISPS Code, were discussed. The
Ship/Port Interface (SPI) working group was
advised that some SOLAS Contracting
Governments were requiring ships calling at
their ports to provide information prior to
arrival beyond what is specified in the
relevant SOLAS regulation (XI-2/9.2.1) and in
the ISPS Code (paragraphs B/4.37 to
B/4.39).
The Committee agreed that the
submission by ships prior to their arrival of
certain minimum security-related information
would be in the interest of the shipping
industry, would facilitate maritime traffic and
might stem the proliferation of differing
national practices.
The Committee therefore agreed to a
standard minimum data-set that ships could
expect to be required to transmit prior to
entry into port. It includes ship details, such
as name, call sign and flag; and confirmation
that the ship possesses a valid International
Ship Security Certificate or a valid Interim
International Ship Security Certificate. The
Committee decided to bring the outcome of
this work to the attention of the Maritime
Safety Committee (MSC) for its consideration
and to invite the MSC to review the content
of the recommended data-set.
List of certificates and
documents required to be
carried on board ships
The Committee approved the revised List
of certificates and documents required to be
carried on board ship. This is to be issued as
a joint FAL/MEPC/MSC Circular. Subject to
approval received by the MEPC and MSC
later this year, the revised circular will
replace FAL/Circ.90/ MEPC/Circ.368/
MSC/Circ.946, issued in 2000.
Chairmen meet to improve
procedures
Ameeting of the MSC, MEPC and
sub-committee chairmen has
been held at IMO headquarters, to
work towards maximizing the
efficiency and effectiveness of the
committees and sub-committees.
Among other topics, the meeting
discussed new terms of reference,
new reporting procedures and the
issue of press coverage of Committee
and sub-committee meetings. The
meeting was co-chaired by Mr. T. Allan
(United Kingdom), Chairman of the
MSC and Mr. A. Chrysostomou
(Cyprus), Chairman of the MEPC.
SG visits Mediterranean pollution centre
IMO Secretary-General Mitropoulos has visited
the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency
Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea
(REMPEC), meeting the Director of the centre,
Rear Admiral Roberto Patruno, and staff.
During the meeting, Mr Mitropoulos
highlighted the important role of REMPEC in
the Mediterranean and stated that IMO
considered the Centre as part of the “IMO
family” and an effective tool for the protection of
the marine environment in the Region. Rear
Admiral Patruno, Director of REMPEC assured
Mr Mitropoulos of REMPEC’s full support to
the efforts undertaken by IMO in fulfilling its
objective of “Safer Seas and Cleaner Oceans”.
New generation of maritime
lawyers graduate from IMLI
IMLI, the Malta©based International Maritime
Law Institute (IMLI), held its 15th Graduation
Ceremony in May at the Malta Maritime
Museum in Vittoriosa, in the the presence of
IMO’s Secretary General Efthimios
Mitropoulos, former IMO Secretary-General Mr.
William O’Neil (Chairman of the IMLI Govering
Board), and many distinguished guests.
Professor David Attard, IMLI Director,
expressed his thanks to the IMO Technical
Cooperation Division, The Nippon Foundation,
Lloyd’s Register, The Comit¿) Maritime
International, The Malta Maritime
Authority and a number of
Governments for their generous
contributions in providing scholarships
and paid special tribute to the
Governments of Malta and Switzerland
for “their unwavering, constant support
to the Institute’s funding”. He also
thanked the IMLI’s Governors, resident
faculty and IMLI staff, concluding with
wishing students further success in
their professional careers.
REMPEC, established in 1976 within the
framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan
of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), assists Mediterranean
coastal States in the implementation of the
Prevention and Emergency Protocol to the
Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the
Mediterranean Sea against Pollution. The
Intergovernmental United Nations Regional
Centre, which operates from premises on
Manoel Island, that were made available by the
Government of Malta in a “host country”
agreement between IMO and Malta, is
administered by IMO and financed by the
Mediterranean Trust Fund.
Established under the auspices of the
International Maritime Organization (IMO), the
IMO International Maritime Law Institute
(IMLI) is an international centre for training
specialists in maritime law. In 15 years of its
existence IMLI has successfully trained 304
lawyers from 98 countries around the world with
knowledge and skills which should enable their
respective administrations to uphold the rule of
law in International Maritime Law and
contribute to IMO’s aims of safer shipping and
cleaner oceans.
FAL seminar
highlights
Mahgreb issues
Aregional Facilitation (FAL) seminar,
financed by the IMO Technical Cooperation
Fund, was held in Maputo,
Mozambique, in May, in co-operation with
the country’s Ministry of Transport and
Communications,. The seminar was attended
by 23 participants from 14 selected East
African region countries (Angola, Comoros,
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia,
Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda). In
addition, a sub-regional FAL seminar was
held in Algiers, Algeria during the same
month, in co-operation with the Ministry of
Transport of Algeria. It was attended by 50
participants from the Maghreb region
countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia).
Among the outcomes reported from the
Maghreb region seminar, it was noted that in
tackling economic development and the
significant rise in trading in their commercial
and tourist sectors, the countries of the
Maghreb had improved facilities at their
maritime terminals, simplifying passenger
procedures by deploying customs officials,
insurance representatives and, in certain
countries, on-board police, with a view to
completing formalities prior to
disembarkation;
Given the success of the above-mentioned
measures, the seminar proposed that a
Recommended Practice Part G should be
added to the FAL Convention to make
provision for the on-board presence of
customs, police and insurance officials. This
measure would ease the transit, especially in
summer, of passengers, their baggage and
vehicles, by advancing the respective
procedures.
The seminar also recommended that port
security and facilitation activities should be
considered together, and that provisions of
the ISPS Code should be integrated into the
FAL Convention.
The Maghreb region countries have been
invited to submit proposals to IMO on the
seminar recommendations.
Seatrade awards –
entries sought
IMO Secretary-General Efthimios
Mitropoulos is to chair the panel of judges
for the 2005 Seatrade Awards. The awards
ceremony will be held at London’s Guildhall
next April, and entries for the various awards
are now being accepted by the Seatrade
organisation.
36 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 37

IMO at work
IMO waves the
flag about
shipping as QM2
model sails in
Secretary-General Mitropoulos said it was
time to promote the image of shipping,
as he received on behalf of IMO a replica
model of the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship from
the International Council of Cruise Lines and
their members Cunard and Carnival Cruise
Lines.
Referring to the Queen Mary 2 as a “a
symbol for all that is excellent in shipping
today”, Mr. Mitropoulos said the presentation
was one occasion on which “we can,
justifiably, I think, wave the flag about
shipping and give the wider world an
excellent example of just why those of us
involved in this great industry are so proud
of it and proud of the part it plays in our
global society today.”
Mr. Mitropoulos said he believed the
image of shipping did need promotion,
adding: “I find it grossly unfair that, when
something goes wrong in shipping,
politicians and the public are quick to
criticize and condemn, whereas, when great
things happen in the industry, such as the
safe and clean delivery of goods by sea in
their overwhelming majority or the arrival of
beautiful ships such as the QM2, they mostly
go unnoticed.”
“The arrival of such a beautiful and
prestigious vessel which, by the very nature
of her heritage will capture the imagination of
a wider public, provides a great opportunity
to promote shipping” he said, adding: “This
magnificent ship has, quite rightly, been
celebrated and fêted both as the inheritor of a
proud tradition and as the embodiment of the
kind of cutting-edge, future-orientated
solutions that we see all over the world in
every facet of shipping today.”
The model ship was presented by Ms. Pam
Conover, President and CEO of Cunard Line
Ltd. Also speaking at the ceremony were Mr.
David Jamieson, MP, Minister for Shipping,
United Kingdom and Mr. Michael Crye,
President of ICCL. Commodore Ronald
Warwick, Shipmaster of the Year and master
of the QM 2, also attended.
ICCL also presented IMO with a cheque
for US$10,000 as a contribution to the
recently established International Search and
Rescue (SAR) Fund, which will assist
countries which do not have the resources to
put into place an adequate SAR infrastructure
and thereby fill a gap in IMO’s efforts to
establish the global SAR plan on a realistic,
efficient and effective basis.
Mural says “keep it clean”
The Council has appointed Secretary-
General Mitropoulos as Chancellor of the
World Maritime University (WMU) for the
two-year period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2006.
The Council also accorded the status of
Chancellor Emeritus of the WMU to the
former chancellor and previous IMO
Secretary-General Mr. William A. O’Neil. The
Council also appointed Mr. Mitropoulos
Chairman of the International Maritime Law
New navaids tender for
Middle East
The Middle East Navigation Aids Service
(MENAS) has introduced its new
multipurpose light tender vessel Relume in a
special naming ceremony at Damen
Shipyards’ Royal Schelde facility in
Vlissingen, in the Netherlands. The vessel,
the third MENAS ship to bear the name
Relume, was christened by Mrs Chantal E
Mitropoulos, wife of IMO Secretary-General
Efthimios Mitropoulos.
Although the paramount responsibility of
the new Relume will be, like that of its
predecessors, the provision and
maintenance of aids to navigation in the
international waters of the Arabian
Gulf, the new 82-metre long vessel
will offer a wide range of related
services that neither of the two
earlier vessels could perform.
Speaking at the naming ceremony,
Mr Mitropoulos said, “The new
Relume is, in its way, a reflection of
the changes that have affected the
wider shipping world. Coming 25
years after its predecessor it presents
a radically different technical profile,
with features that were scarcely
dreamt of a quarter of a century ago.
With great flexibility of role and
Ms Annah Tipis, a WMU
graduate of 1987 and
delegate to the IMO/UNEP
Workshop in Mombasa earlier this
year was proud to show delegates
the mural she had painted depicting
the cruiseship Njaramba, which is
named after her son. Ms Tipis, who
works in the maritime
administration in Kenya, explained:
“We all have to do our bit to
educate our neighbours to keep the
seas clean and this is my way of
doing it.”
IMO Council makes WMU appointments
Institute (IMLI) Governing Board for the
two-year period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2006.
Mr. Mitropoulos said he was pleased and
honoured to accept his appointments and was
delighted at the recognition given to his
predecessor, Mr. O’Neil. “The pre-eminent position
of the WMU has been gained in no small part
through Mr. O’Neil’s activities as Chancellor and
the status of Chancellor Emeritus was justifiably
accorded by acclamation,” Mr. Mitropoulos said.
operational scope it will offer a much wider
range of services than ever before. Being
equipped for oil spill response, it will make
a contribution to the region’s marine
environmental protection capability, actively
serving those States parties to the OPRC
Convention of 1990. The vessel will also
play a major part in the training of nationals
from littoral states in both oil prevention
preparedness and oil spill response and I
am especially encouraged by MENAS’
willingness to make its new ship available to
the nations of the Gulf Co-Operation
Council for training purposes.”
38 IMO NEWS No.3 2004 www.imo.org.
www.imo.org. No.3 2004 IMO NEWS 39