| The
ISPS deadline is getting closer
Britain's shipping authorities are under
political pressure to secure 100% compliance with the International
Ship and Port Facility (ISPS) code by the July 1 deadline,
according to sources in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The government is said to have reassured
the US that the UK will be among the international leaders
in the implementation of the code, which was rapidly pushed
through the International Maritime Organization in late
2002, largely at Washington’s behest. In particular, the
MCA sources point to the undertakings Prime Minister Tony
Blair and other world leaders gave on shipping security
at the G8 summit in Canada.
Now the Department for Transport and in
particular, the du học nhật bản intelligence-linked security division, Transec
have made it plain that nothing less than full compliance,
on time and on the part of every British ship, will be considered
acceptable. The MCA had already taken the significant decision
to handle all audit and verification work itself, rather
than farm the work out to recognised security organisations,
as many other flags have done.
While the agency believes it has the staff
and processes in place to make the cut, it is dependent
on British companies not tarrying in carrying out their
obligations.
There were fears before Christmas that
the pace of applications was proceeding too slowly.
However, the rate is now said to have picked up since the
New Year.
As a result, it is pushing a stark message
to owners: if they don’t comply in time, their ships will
Porttechnology org – 14 Jan 2004
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