New organisation for ISPS security officers http://www.imsso.com A new organisation, the International Merchant Ship Security Organisation (IMSSO) has been set up to provide a forum for company, ship and port facility officers [as designed under the ISPS code], to allow them to communicate with each other and learn about security matters and the potential security-related problems they might find themselves liable for. In the run up to the introduction of the ISPS Code, IMSSO will assist ship owners in developing Ship Security Assessments (SSAs) and Ship Security Plans (SSPs) as required by the code. IMSSO's headquarters are in London onboard HQS WELLINGTON, the home of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, and headquarters of Maritime and Underwater Security Consultants (MUSC), which is one of the founders of IMSSO. IMSSO's membership consists of ship owners and Company, Ship and Port Facility Security Officers supported by an international network of security specialists, Lloyd's Agents and P&I Club Correspondents. Initial membership will be between $50 - $100 a year; the organisation will ultimately be independent of any company and non-profit making. "The ISPS Code has created a new group of land and sea-based officers who will have responsibilities and liabilities under law for ship and pot security," says Chris Austen, CEO of MUSC. "The code has come in at a rush and many are not clear on how they should fulfil their duties. We want to bring together officers and organizations with responsibility under the ISPS Code so that they can share their experiences on establishing and implementing the ISPS code - help members to find out what works and what doesn't and to earn from each others successes and mistakes. IMSSO's website, to be in place next week will provide members with a location where they can find information about related maritime security services, such as training, learn more about security equipment and share experiences on security problems and solutions with other security officers in chatrooms. SUBHEAD Ship security plans One of the immediate aims of IMSSO is to assist shipowners in preparing and implementing Ship Security Plans to meet the IMO deadline of 1 July 2004. IMSSO is putting together an international network of Lloyd's Agents and P+I Club Correspondents that have been trained to carry out shipboard security surveys. The surveys are sent electronically to IMSSO's security consultants, Maritime & Underwater Security Consultants (MUSC) in London, so that Ship Security Assessments and Plans can prepare for owners' review and submission to their maritime administrations. IMSSO has in place a network of 100 ports and plans to extend this to over 200 within the next few weeks. "If we have got a network of IMSSO representatives around the world all of whom are trained to a particular standard, they can go onboard ships and carry out the on-scene security survey as required by the ISPS code," says Mr Austen. "A shipowner can contact IMSSO and say - for instance, I've got a ship in Shanghai, I've got another one in Singapore - one in Dubai, one in Athens - one in Antwerp and one in Houston, we can get them all visited tomorrow." "This is one of the barriers that we feel the owners have is - they think, if we hire a consultant in, say, the UK, they've got to fly a surveyor from the UK - the travel costs alone come to thousands of pounds." "If the program changes and the ship goes to another port then the travel costs multiply. You have to re-route the surveyor or cancel his trip. This often means additional cost to the owner and for this reason they may be reluctant to say, "go out and do the survey". Through the IMSSO network, properly qualified IMSSO Ship Security Surveyors will conduct the shipboard survey and transmit the survey report to MUSC who produce the SSA and SSP rapidly for owner review and implementation," he says. "The first bottleneck is actually doing the work - plenty of owners haven't started that process - they've not submitted the plans to do the approval." SUBHEAD Advice line to Ship Owners IMSSO will also be a first point of contact for shipping companies requiring urgent security advice, for example if vessels have security-related difficulties to gaining access to ports, or an official says that the there ship's security plan is inadequate or non-compliant. "There is a 24 hour standby service - so the shipowner can say - help, this has happened to my ship, what should we do about it," he says. "IMSSO will provide a 24 hour guidance to help the ship owner, SSO or Master with practical advice on how to overcome or rectify concerns by Port State Security Control." "We are also putting together a network of marine lawyers, including Clyde and Co, who have spent some time in developing a sound understanding the implications of the ISPS code - and how that might affect the liabilities of the ship operator." It seems quite likely that shipping companies will have plenty of urgent legal and security problems to sort out after July 1. "We enter into a new phase, with a lot of new and inexperienced port state security control officers and flag state control officers," he says. "The likelihood is that ships will be much more vulnerable to delay." "In the past - a ship going into a US port - would be scored on a matrix before it goes in - to see if it's alright in terms of the safety and pollution aspects. "Now they are applying two other matrixes - the security matrix and the ISPS compliance matrix. "The security matrix - can be information from US intelligence - that's all confidential information. The third one is to assess if the ship is compliant in terms of the ISPS code." "There may be a problem because Port State Security Control Officer inspector visits a ship and considers that gangway security is inadequate or that a security drill, such as a bomb search has been poorly conducted or if the baggage screening gear isn't working. Through IMSSO we plan to offer practical advice to the owner or Master to overcome such shortfalls."