Vizhinjam International Port has successfully obtained the International Shipping and Port Security (ISPS) Code from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) under the United Nations.
This certification is mandatory for international ships to operate within its premises, encompassing high-speed cargo vessels, bulk carriers, and other cargo ships.
With this approval, Vizhinjam Port aligns itself with international standards of security, ensuring a secure environment for maritime activities.
What is ISPS Code?
• The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.
• It is a comprehensive set of measures to enhance the security of ships and port facilities, developed in response to the perceived threats to ships and port facilities in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
• The ISPS Code is part of the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) and compliance is mandatory for the Contracting Parties.
• The ISPS Code was adopted by one of the resolutions that was adopted on December 12, 2002 by the Conference of Contracting Governments to the SOLAS, 1974.
• In essence, the Code takes the approach that ensuring the security of ships and port facilities is a risk management activity and that, to determine what security measures are appropriate, an assessment of the risks must be made in each particular case.
• The purpose of the Code is to provide a standardised, consistent framework for evaluating risk, enabling governments to offset changes in threat with changes in vulnerability for ships and port facilities through determination of appropriate security levels and corresponding security measures.
Different security levels in the ISPS Code
• Security level 1: Normal, the level at which the ship or port facility normally operates. Security level 1 means the level for which minimum appropriate protective security measures shall be maintained at all times.
• Security level 2: Heightened, the level applying for as long as there is a heightened risk of a security incident. Security level 2 means the level for which appropriate additional protective security measures shall be maintained for a period of time as a result of heightened risk of a security incident.
• Security level 3: Exceptional, the level applying for the period of time when there is the probable or imminent risk of a security incident. Security level 3 means the level for which further specific protective security measures shall be maintained for a limited period of time when a security incident is probable or imminent, although it may not be possible to identify the specific target.
SOLAS Convention
• The Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships. The first version was adopted in 1914, in response to the Titanic disaster, the second in 1929, the third in 1948, and the fourth in 1960.
• The 1974 version includes the tacit acceptance procedure — which provides that an amendment shall enter into force on a specified date unless, before that date, objections to the amendment are received from an agreed number of Parties.
• As a result the 1974 Convention has been updated and amended on numerous occasions.
• The Convention in force today is sometimes referred to as SOLAS, 1974, as amended.
International Maritime Organisation
• The International Maritime Organisation is a specialised agency of the United Nations which is responsible for measures to improve the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent pollution from ships.
• It has an integral role in meeting the targets set out in United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
• It was established by means of a Convention adopted under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva on March 17, 1948 and met for the first time in January 1959.
• It currently has 176 Member States. There are 66 inter-governmental organisations which have observer status with IMO, and 88 international non-governmental organisations in consultative status with IMO.
• International shipping transports more than 80 per cent of global trade to peoples and communities all over the world. Shipping is the most efficient and cost-effective method of international transportation for most goods. It provides a dependable, low-cost means of transporting goods globally, facilitating commerce and helping to create prosperity among nations and peoples.
• The mission of the IMO is to promote safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient and sustainable shipping through cooperation.
• It is also involved in legal matters, including liability and compensation issues and the facilitation of international maritime traffic.
• Its role is to create a level playing-field so that ship operators cannot address their financial issues by simply cutting corners and compromising on safety, security and environmental performance.
• IMO, has promoted the adoption of some 50 conventions and protocols and adopted more than 1,000 codes and recommendations concerning maritime safety and security, the prevention of pollution from shipping and other related matters.
• With regard to the protection of the marine environment, a series of conventions and other instruments, which are periodically updated and amended, have been adopted to address the prevention of pollution, preparedness and response to marine pollution incidents and compensation for pollution damage.
Structure of IMO
• The organisation is led by the Secretary General supported by a Secretariat based at IMO headquarters in London. Secretary Generals are appointed for a maximum of two terms, each lasting four years.
• The IMO Assembly consists of all member states and is the highest governing body of the organisation. It is responsible for approving the work programme, voting the budget and determining the IMO’s financial arrangements.
• The IMO Council is elected by the Assembly for terms of two years. It acts as the executive organ of IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, for supervising the work of the organisation.
• Between sessions of the Assembly, the council performs the functions of the assembly, except that of making recommendations to governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention.
