Maldives Hosts Maritime Security Workshop
The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) is mandatory instrument addressing the safety and security of ships, ports, cargo and crew, says International Maritime Organization (IMO).According to the UN body, it contains detailed security-related requirements for Governments, port authorities and shipping companies to ensure preventive measures can be taken if a security threat is determined.Maldives has become the latest country to receive maritime security training from IMO on the ISPS Code, specifically for its Designated Authority (DA) and Port Facility Security Officers (PFSOs).A three-day workshop in Male, Maldives…
Unfair Reporting on Piracy, Says Nigeria
The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has called on the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) to ensure fairness and balance in its reportage of piracy issues on Nigeria’s territorial waters.Dakuku regretted what he called the exaggeration of reports on incidences on the country’s waterways by the IMB, a specialised department of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) dedicated to fighting maritime crime and malpractice.The DG noted that the Agency had put mechanisms in place to reduce piracy to the barest minimum. These, he said, include investing in the satellite surveillance system…
Ghana Ready For Maritime Crisis
From the sinking of the Titanic to the current piracy phenomenon plaguing the world's oceans, Maritime challenges requires a conserted and collaborative global effort at maintaining safety of live and protection of property at sea.To this the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) collaborated with its global partners from the European Uninon Gulf of Guinea Interregional Network (EU-GoGIN), and the Inter-Regional Coordination Centre (ICC) and organized a four-day crisis response training for security experts and players in the maritime sector.Participants were drawn from the Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Army, Ghana Navy, Airforce, National Security, National Disaster Management Organisation and Ghana Immigration Service.
Unsung Heroes Become Victims of 9/11
Merchant Mariners? When the public's attention is preoccupied with the 9/11 anniversary and with sword rattling about a pre-emptive strike on Iraq, how do merchant mariners enter our consciousness? The simple answer is that they don't. To most Americans, merchant mariners are out of sight and out of mind, despite our absolute dependence upon them in peace and in war. More than ninety percent of everything that we consume in our peacetime global economy - from our morning coffee to the car that takes us home from work - has traveled on a ship. The vast majority of international trade with the United States is on foreign flag ships with foreign crews. Our military depends on both American and foreign merchant mariners to sustain their operations.
CSR Urges Support of Merchant Mariner ID Cards
Church Institute (CSR) of New York & New Jersey is urging the Hon. Secretary of State and the Hon. Tom Ridge, Secretary of U.S. identification cards. security of seafarers' identification. identification. said Mr. Douglas B. Stevenson Director of the Center for Seafarers' Rights. waiver or substitute has not yet been accepted in the U.S. and portions of the Department of Homeland Security. International Christian Maritime Organization's ILO standing delegation. responsibilities on board and ashore. known security risks, but simply because they do not possess D-1 visas. D-1 visas very difficult for foreign mariners to obtain. security," said Mr. Stevenson. Act of 2002 (e.g. biometric indicator). measures would provide a sufficiently high level of security.
Government Update
By Dennis L. Bryant, senior maritime counsel, Holland & Knight, Washington, D.C. The federal government has concluded that one means of enhancing maritime security is by making maritime activity transparent. The theory is that if the federal government can look through or behind all maritime transactions, it can determine if any of them have ties to terrorists and take appropriate action before the threat manifests itself. The problem is that many of the participants in maritime activities value the current opaqueness of most maritime transactions, generally for legitimate commercial reasons. If your competitor knows early-on what you are doing, he or she can more successfully compete against you.
