Editor’s Note

I, personally, have never met a deadline that I have not either battered, broken or despised. Ironic, considering the number of daily, weekly and monthly deadlines I must meet in the course of producing the plethora of printed and electronic information products created by The Maritime Group.

Deadlines are no stranger to the maritime industry, and though accustomed to meeting them on a regular basis, no date looms more imposing than July 1, 2004, which will usher in a new and presumably superior era of maritime security around the globe.

While much attention and many dollars are focused on getting as many companies as possible in compliance with the rules of the ISPS code by that date, a recent round of discussions with U.S. Coast Guard officials and industry leaders has convinced me that the only thing more assured than the arrival of July 1, 2004 is the fact that a very significant percentage of ships and ports will not meet the requirements by the deadline. It is impossible to guess percentages, and frankly, the actual number of those “in compliance” versus those not is not my point.

The changes embodied in ISPS and subsequent maritime security measures — whether enacted on the international, national or regional level — will have a profound, deep and lasting impact on the maritime industry for generations. Lack of the the ISPS stamp — for lack of a better term — on July 1 for an arriving ship or its last port of departure, does not mean that the ship will automatically be turned away from U.S. ports. The U.S. Coast Guard, charged with ensuring the safety of U.S. ports and enforcing the letter of the law, conversely has no desire to bring U.S. commerce to its knees. Based on a thorough and secret risk analysis, the USCG will deal with non-conformists on a per-case basis, and will employ an escalating set of procedures to ensure that ships arriving in U.S. ports are delivering goods, not harm.

That said, it is clear that quality shipowners — ie. shipowners that have a history demonstrating the acquisition, maintenance and operation of a quality fleet while adhering to accepted codes — will have a much easier voyage in the timely arrival and departure in the U.S. Taking this one step further, it can be assumed that vigilance in security matters will help to increasingly expose and eliminate the threat of subpar ships, a situation that justly rewards companies that invest the time and capital to ensure its fleet is designed, built, outfitted and maintained, as well as crewed and staffed, in the highest quality manner possible.

That said, its time to go. I’m past deadline.