Business | Shipping
Somalia piracy puts ship security firmly in context
When the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code was implemented in 2004, some sceptics discounted it as an ineffective process that had been designed as lip service to any threat by supporters of George Bush in the wake of September 11, 2001 attacks on United States and in the run-up to the November 2004 American presidential elections.
- By Frank Kennedy, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 23:30 August 31, 2008
When the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code was implemented in 2004, some sceptics discounted it as an ineffective process that had been designed as lip service to any threat by supporters of George Bush in the wake of September 11, 2001 attacks on United States and in the run-up to the November 2004 American presidential elections.
That may or may not have been the case then; however, the current menacing threat to shipping in the Horn of Africa region puts ISPS firmly into context as a useful tool to counter the threat as far as practically possible.
ISPS is however, not the panacea to solve all ship security issues; the downside being of course that it will not prevent a ship from being boarded and robbed or hijacked - just as it will not prevent a determined terrorist from gaining access to a ship or to a port to do his dirty deed.
Valuable weapon
However, ISPS is a valuable weapon in the armoury of the ship that if properly implemented will help to minimise the risk, to lengthen the odds against an attack by deterrence and by effective on-board measures.
The key words here are properly implemented because it is a sad fact that despite the good intentions of majority of ship operators, some ship security assessments (SSAs) may have been flawed during the rush to meet the deadline and the subsequent ship security plans (SSPs) that were churned out during the rushed implementation of ISPS, were hurriedly approved by various flag administrations or their designated Recognised Security Organisations (RSOs) on their behalf.
Consequentially, they may fall short in their effectiveness to address on-board security vulnerabilities and the current spate of piracy incidents is putting such plans to the test.
Furthermore, because ISPS is not the be-all, end-all solution, those less-than-reputable ship operators that were tardy in its implementation and who have got away with it during the certification process, are facing dangerous exposure if they do operate their ships in high risk regions and sadly, a significant minority of operators in the Arabian Gulf fall into this category.
They are motivated by a mentality that compliance is merely the possession of a certificate rather than proper implementation. Moreover, Somalia/Horn of Africa is close at hand.
The current deterioration in that region is the worst that has ever been and surpasses the previous hot-spot that had been the Malacca Straits until the 2004 tsunami gave littoral states the edge to contain the pirates. Furthermore, the worrying use of mother ships by those that are attacking shipping has created a new dimension to the threat and extended the danger area well beyond the previous norm.
The extent of the seriousness of the situation has prompted US-led coalition forces in the area to establish a defined maritime security patrol area (MSPA) in the Gulf of Aden. This is a welcome development and the Bahrain-based Maritime Liaison Office (MARLO) said that a force of coalition navy warships and aircraft will patrol the area. It went on to say that these actions were intended to give the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) time to work international preventative efforts that will ultimately lead to a long-term solution.
Other measures
There are other measures that the IMO could initiate in the fight against piracy: ship implementation deficiencies need flag action and the IMO could certainly advise administrations of ships that are trading in high-risk areas to require additional ISPS validation of the International Ship Security Certificate to the current 2-3 year requirement.
Insurers could also make this a rigid condition for cover in these areas. SSPs should also be revalidated accordingly because the present system of compliance makes no rigid requirement for an ISPS auditor to ensure that a particular SSP is currently applicable to the ship it pertains to apply to.
Although introduced primarily as an anti-terrorist instrument, ISPS has come of age because of piracy.
The writer is a Dubai-based marine consultant.
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