International Ship and Port Facility Security Code
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The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code) is a code agreed between members of the signators to the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) on minimium security arrangements for ships, ports and Coast Guard agencies. The Code was introduced by the International Maritime Organization(IMO), the overseer of the original SOLAS agreement, in the wake of fears of terrorist attacks on ships and ports after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The code was agreed at a meeting of the 108 signators to the original convention in London in December 2002. The measures agreed under the code were brought into force on July 1, 2004.
The code does not specify specific measures that each port and ship must take to ensure the safety of the facility against terrorism because of the many different types and sizes of these facilities. Instead it outlines "a standardized, consistent framework for evaluating risk, enabling governments to offset changes in threat with changes in vulnerability for ships and port facilities."
For ships the framework includes requirements on:
- ship security plans
- ship security officers
- company security officers
- certain onboard equipment
For port facilities, the requirements include:
- port facility security plans
- port facility security officers
- certain security equipment
In addition the requirements for ships and for port facilities include:
- monitoring and controlling access
- monitoring the activities of people and cargo
- ensuring security communications are readily available
Note: The lists of requirements in this article is taken verbatim from IMO sources under a fair use doctrine
Implementation
The code came into force on July 1, 2004. Though most authorities around the world reported little disruption to shipping activities, the United States Coast Guard said it expected to prevent 3 of the 250 ships due to enter ports around the country that day under the provisions laid down by the code. A Coast Guard spokeswoman said that the three ships lacked international shipping security certificates. In fact on the eve of the code coming into force the IMO reported that only 53% of ships and 50% of ports were believed to be in full compliance of code, but that some governments were choosing not to implement penalties for non-compliance too quickly in order to avoid disruption to trade.
External links
- IMO Press Release on the agreement of the code (http://www.imo.org/Newsroom/mainframe.asp?topic_id=583&doc_id=2689)
- Reuters report on the impact of the code on United States ports (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5566008)