Turmoil over anti-terrorism standards for
ports By Alan Boyd
Asian
trade routes face severe disruption next week following
the failure of most ports and shippers to comply with
strict new anti-terrorism standards that are about to
take effect at the global level.
Customs
authorities in the United States and Western Europe have
said they may shut out vessels lacking accreditation
under the International Ship and Port Facility Security
Code (ISPS), which comes into force next Thursday. Ships
from these regions may also refuse to dock in Asian
ports that do not meet ISPS safety levels. At the very
least, non-compliant merchant vessels will have to
undergo onboard inspections that may mean long delays in
freight transfers.
"We will be able to verify
the security of individual vessels before they call on a
US port ... before they can pose a threat. And those not
in compliance may not be allowed to enter our ports," US
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said this week.
Drawn up by the United Nations' International
Maritime Organization (IMO) following the September 2001
terrorist attacks in the United States, the ISPS code
requires governments, merchant vessels of 500 gross tons
or more and all port facilities handling these ships to
seek accreditation in their registered countries.
Security plans must be validated, company and
onboard security officers appointed and equipment
installed that can protect against the seizure of
vessels or ports and their use for terrorism purposes.
Access at ports must be tightly monitored and
controlled.
Applicants were given 18 months to
come up to standard. But the IMO said this week that
only 37% of the world's 55,000 large merchant vessels
and 16% of its 15,000 ports had so far met the
requirements.
In Asia, compliance levels are
believed to be even lower, with an estimated 20-25% of
ships acquiring ISPS certificates and less than 10% of
ports, putting a large slice of the region's maritime
commerce at risk.
The two leading transshipment
centers, Singapore and Hong Kong, have both exceeded 90%
compliance across the industry and are likely to be
fully accredited within a matter of months. However,
there has been a poor response from mainland China, the
Indian subcontinent and most Southeast Asian countries,
including Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and
Vietnam. Some countries blame the heavy expense, while
others point to a reluctance within the industry to
share sensitive information.
ISPS is wrapped
around a 2002 amendment to the International Convention
for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), a package of
guidelines that aims to set global standards for
preventing, detecting and responding to maritime safety,
pollution and security threats.
All Asian
countries other than landlocked Laos and Nepal signed
the original 1974 accord, but there was a more muted
response to two protocols issued in 1978 and 1988 that
deal specifically with tankers and passenger vessels.
Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and
Thailand have not signed the 1978 protocol, while
Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka,
Thailand and Indonesia opted out of the 1988 protocol.
Since the 2001 attacks, anti-terrorism efforts
have focused on airline security and fixed
installations, evoking fears that maritime facilities
could offer softer and potentially more disruptive
targets.
"We have a very good understanding of
where [aircraft] are going, who is on board, what cargo
they carry, when they will land and their status
throughout their voyage," Admiral Thomas Fargo,
commander of US forces in the Pacific, said in Kuala
Lumpur on Wednesday. "We need to gain that kind of clear
view of the maritime space ... so we can gain a better
feel for who is moving throughout the sealanes of
communication."
Maritime agencies are known to
be concerned by the lax approach to security in Asian
ports, which have a high exposure to piracy attacks,
often linked to ethnic-based insurgency movements. About
30% of the world’s trade, equivalent to 50,000 vessels a
year, is shipped through the Straits of Malacca between
Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, which is also the sea
passage that witnesses the most piracy incidents.
The International Chamber of Commerce's Maritime
Bureau lists Indonesia as having the world's most
vulnerable ports to piracy, with Bangladesh’s Chittagong
docks holding down second place.
There were 121
reported piracy attacks in Indonesian waters in 2003 and
58 in Bangladesh. Malaysia, Thailand, India and Sri
Lanka also are highly vulnerable, partly because of lax
security but also due to an official tolerance of
flourishing smuggling trades.
Ten truckloads of
arms and ammunition believed to have been intended for
insurgent groups in Sri Lanka and India were seized near
Chittagong port a week ago, prompting safety alerts from
the United States and IMO.
Weapons are also
believed to have been smuggled through at least one port
in southern Thailand, headed for insurgents in Indonesia
and Sri Lanka, while ships have been raided by
separatists in the renegade Indonesian province of Aceh.
Dhaka has said it will secure ISPS accreditation
for Chittagong before the deadline next week. But this
may not be enough to prevent a boycott of Bangladesh’s
trade gateway, as there is little confidence in maritime
circles that the code can be enforced.
"Buyer
countries are threatening to trade with Bangladesh
through a third country if Chittagong port fails to meet
[ISPS] requirements in the next two months," warned A K
Azad, president of the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries.
Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority has said
it will require all ships intending to call at the
republic's docks to complete a security form 24 hours
before arrival. Vessels failing to do so will not be
permitted to unload.
In external trade markets,
the impact could be even more pronounced, with the US
refusing to take a more lenient stance with ships that
have complied with ISPS standards but are still waiting
for accreditation.
The US Coast Guard said that
starting on Thursday it will board and inspect all large
vessels approaching American ports and may order a
full-scale search of cargo - including containers - if
it is not satisfied.
Asia sends more than 30% of
its exports to US markets, and a further 15-20% to
Western Europe. Large exporters like Thailand and
Indonesia are especially at risk, as they generally rely
on foreign-flagged vessels to transport their goods.
Maritime officials said one significant barrier
to compliance with the security code was the requirement
that shippers and their clients exchange information for
security filings and share the burden of shipment
delays, with costs, expenses and liability - including
insurance coverage - all being borne equally.
Adding to the pressure on shippers,
international insurers have signaled that they will
withdraw cover from ports that do not comply with ISPS.
And exporters will not be contracted by shipping lines
unless they cooperate.
Even after the code has
been introduced, questions will remain over its
effectiveness, with global shipping associations and
many of their clients yet to be convinced that it will
offer anything more than a comfort zone for governments.
"Possession of a certificate will not in itself
deter a committed terrorist, and the real test will be
to maintain the necessary level of vigilance throughout
the industry to discourage persons of ill intent from
regarding shipping as a worthwhile target," the
International Chamber of Shipping noted.
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