Asian ports step up security

ASIA'S two busiest ports, Singapore and Hong Kong, expect to meet a July 1 deadline to comply with a worldwide anti-terror law despite a sluggish response from ship owners and terminal operators.

Singapore lies across the Malacca Strait, one of the busiest waterways in the world and where pirates frequently harry ships. Officials have warned of the risk of militants hijacking a vessel to use as a floating bomb to attack the island.

"The global shipping industry is not only vast; it is poorly regulated, frequently beyond the reach of the law and often secretive in its operations," said Michael Richardson of Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

However, the authorities at Asia's two big shipping hubs were confident their facilities and local ship owners would meet the new requirements.

The tough new security measures adopted by the United Nation require ships and terminal operators to be security-certified by the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) or face the prospect of having cargoes turned away at major ports.

The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore, the world's largest transshipment port, said 71 port facilities out of the 123 in the island state required to comply with the security code have so far submitted plans.

The plans must comply with the UN measures adopted in December 2002 after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington and only 52 have been approved so far.

"We are confident that most of our members with Singapore flagged ships and port facilities will be able to meet the July 1 deadline," said Daniel tan, executive director at the Singapore Shipping Association.

PSA Corp, which operates the main port in Singapore, was the first port facility to meet the requirements of IMO's security code.

About 63 per cent of Singapore-registered ships, or around 1,000 vessels, have either obtained their security-certificates or have submitted plans for approval, the MPA said.

In Hong Kong, the world's busiest container port, just over 40 per cent of shipping companies have submitted security plans so far, leaving the majority with just over three months to make the UN deadline.

"Of the 30 facilities in Hong Kong we have the plans of 22 and aim to have those plans endorsed by the end of March," said Roger Tupper, deputy director of Hong Kong Marine Department.
"The outstanding eight plans, we understand, are in the advanced stage, so we don't anticipate any significant slippage."

The IMO' s International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) requires training for on-board ship and company security officers, emergency procedures to deal with terrorist attacks, and a raft of other measures in ports and coastal terminals to tighten security.

Concerns are growing that if countries fail to meet the tough security requirements for ships and ports, major disruptions to the seaborne trading system could result. According to the UN, over 90 per cent of international trade is carried by sea, including key raw materials such as oil, iron ore, coal and grain.