Financial Times

Port security deadline looms
Colombo Port authorities are racing against time to comply with an international maritime anti-terror law that becomes effective in less than 40 days amid looming industry fears that non-compliance could damage its hub status if ships avoid calls or are slapped with higher insurance premiums.

The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) rules, mandatory for all ports, shipping firms, and oil terminals, come into effect on July 1. The ISPS code requires a series of measures in ports and coastal terminals to tighten security, emergency procedures aimed at dealing with a terror attack, and the training of on-board ship and company security officers.

Industry officials said Sri Lanka had delayed in taking the steps required to ensure compliance with the tough new U.N. security requirements for merchant ships and ports that engage in international trade.

While the UN's International Maritime Organisation, which is responsible for implementing the security code, has said it is concerned that only a fraction of worldwide port facilities are currently fully compliant, industry officials here said that hubs that compete with Colombo, such as Dubai and Singapore, are already compliant.

Industry officials said that Colombo's preparations were behind schedule although the authorities were confident of having the security plans ready by the first week of June.

"The danger of non-compliance is that the IMO or underwriters might not recommend Colombo as a safe port," one industry official said. The IMO has told the global shipping industry that the consequences of failure will be "serious and far-reaching" with ships being refused entry into ports and international trade disrupted.

Government authorities said they were confident of Colombo meeting the deadline. Ariyaratne Hewage, secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Aviation, said the government had appointed the Sri Lanka Navy as the designated authority for port security and implementation of the ISPS code and that it was preparing the plans required for the certificate of compliance. The plans will cover all the major ports in the island.

The Director of Merchant Shipping Abeyratne Banda said: "We are confident Colombo port will be compliant with the IMO requirement." Security at Colombo had been strengthened even before the IMO code was drafted because of the threat from the Tamil Tiger terrorists, he said.

The Sea Tiger staged an abortive underwater attack on Colombo port in the mid-1990s and have also attacked merchant ships taking government cargo to Jaffna in the eastern seas.

Rohan Perera, chairman of the Ceylon Association of Ships' Agents, said the authorities had assured the association that the security programmes are well in place and that the trade would be given a month's notice that the port would be compliant by the cut off date of July 1.

"We met with the ministry two months ago before the government changed and they told us they would let us know by the end of May whether or not the port would be compliant. We certainly hope it will be compliant."

Asked about the potential implications of non-compliance, Perera said: "When ships are ISPS compliant they should call only at ports which are ISPS compliant. If Colombo is not compliant ships might omit calls here which could affect our transhipment and domestic trade."

The U.S. Coast Guard has told the global shipping industry that vessels that call in ports not compliant with the security code or so-called "contaminated ports" could be subject to extra control actions, including carrying out boarding at sea or at the dock, all the way up to denial of entry.

Ships could face delays or higher insurance premiums if they call at non-compliant ports while merchant ships that are not security-certified could be turned away.

The United States pushed the new rules through the UN in the wake of the September 11 attacks, fearful that al Qaeda could deliver a "dirty bomb" or other weapon of mass destruction through one of its ports.

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