DMA RO Circular no. 007

Transcription

1 DMA no. 007 Issue Date: 13 December 2007 DMA RO Circular no. 007 Guidance on ship security alert system (SSAS) 1. Rule reference SOLAS, chapter XI-2, and EU regulation 725/ Explanatory note The Danish Maritime Authority has decided to issue a guidance on the ship security alert system to ensure that the system has been correctly tested and operated. The guidance is attached to this circular and will also be available on Contact: ro@dma.dk 1 Revision no. 01

2 Translation: Only the Danish document has legal validity Danish Maritime Authority, 13 December 2007 GUIDANCE ON SHIP SECURITY ALERT SYSTEM SSAS All ships covered by the ISPS Code shall be provided with a ship security alert system according to more detailed deadlines (Notice B from the Danish Maritime Authority, chapter XI-2, regulation 6, as given below). Regulation 6 Ship security alert system 1 All ships shall be provided with a ship security alert system (SOLAS, regulation XI-2/6), as follows: 1. ships constructed on or after 1 July 2004; 2. passenger ships, including high-speed passenger craft, constructed before 1 July 2004, not later than the first survey of the radio installation after 1 July 2004; 3. oil tankers, chemical tankers, gas carriers, bulk carriers and cargo high-speed craft, of 500 gross tonnage and upwards constructed before 1 July 2004, not later than the first survey of the radio installation after 1 July 2004; and 4. other cargo ships of 500 gross tonnage and upward and mobile offshore drilling units constructed before 1 July 2004, not later than the first survey of the radio installation after 1 July The ship security alert system, when activated, shall: 1. initiate and transmit a ship-to-shore security alert to a competent authority (the Admiral Danish Fleet SOK) designated by the Administration, which in these circumstances may include the Company, identifying the ship, its location and indicating that the security of the ship is under threat or it has been compromised; 2. not send the ship security alert to any other ships; 3. not raise any alarm on board the ship; and 4. continue the ship security alert until deactivated and/or reset. 3 The ship security alert system shall: 1. be capable of being activated from the navigation bridge and in at least one other location; and 2. conform to performance standards not inferior to those adopted by the Organisation. 4 The ship security alert system activation points shall be designed so as to prevent the inadvertent initiation of the ship security alert. 5 The requirement for a ship security alert system may be complied with by using the radio installation fitted for compliance with the requirements of SOLAS, chapter IV, provided all requirements of this regulation are complied with. 6 When an Administration receives notification of a ship security alert, that Administration shall immediately notify the State(s) in the vicinity of which the ship is presently operating. 7 When a Contracting Government receives notification of a ship security alert from a ship which is not entitled to fly its flag, that Contracting Government shall immediately notify the relevant Administration and, if appropriate, the State(s) in the vicinity of which the ship is presently operating. Contact: ro@dma.dk 2 Revision no. 01

3 Setting up of security alerts in Danish ships The Danish Maritime Authority has, in cooperation with SOK, considered the addressing of security alerts and hereby provides the guidelines. Security alerts from Danish ships shall be submitted to the Danish Maritime Assistance Service (MAS), which is operated by SOK. This means that all security alerts from Danish ships shall be submitted to MAS as soon as possible. The alerts shall be addressed to SOK s land-mobile Inmarsat C system as well as to the address (see below). Please observe that Denmark does not accept intermediate links when submitting security alerts from Danish ships. The alert shall be submitted directly to MAS. Furthermore, the alert shall be submitted to the Company Security Officer CSO. The coding of the address field shall have the following order of priority: (Land Inmarsat-C) 2. (fax or SMS) to the Company Security Officer 3. mas@sok.dk (Maritime Assistance Service at SOK) If there is room for coding more addresses into the system, the alert should, furthermore, be submitted as a backup to MAS SOK s fax address: (SOK s fax) SSAS equipment that has already been coded in accordance with previous guidelines shall be recoded no later than at the next mandatory survey of the radio installation, cf. the above-mentioned guidelines. Ship identification The ship shall be identified unambiguously in the security alert so that MAS SOK will not doubt which ship has released the alert. The message shall contain the following information: IMO no. xxxxxxx MMSI no. 219yyyyyy (possibly 220yyyyyy) Ship s name Call sign Date/time group (updated automatically and continuously) Position and course and speed, if relevant (updated automatically and continuously) It must not be possible to activate the security alert inadvertently. Should this happen, MAS SOK as well as the Company Security Officer shall be informed immediately. Contact: ro@dma.dk 3 Revision no. 01

4 Since this system is a hidden attack alert, the companies/csos are recommended to consider what procedures can be used to clarify quickly whether the alert is real or has been activated inadvertently. Alternative alert method Please observe that, in case of the occurrence of a serious security-related incident requiring the authorities being alerted and if it is not possible to activate the security alert, this is considered an emergency where nothing shall prevent the additional use of any alternative alert method available. Responsibility for de-coding and re-coding of SSAS in case of ships being sold It has been found that when ships are being sold to foreign owners, false alerts are received that occur when re-coding the ship s SSAS. It is the shipping company s responsibility that, when a ship is sold, it is ensured that all information from the previous ownership is deleted/decoded before the ship is handed over. An alternative may be the dismounting of the SSAS before the ship is being handed over. Subsequently, correct coding is the buyer s responsibility. Testing of security alerts on Danish ships To ensure the functionality of the system, a live alert shall be submitted to MAS SOK after the installation is completed or if major changes are made to the alert system s set-up. Furthermore, a live alert shall be submitted in connection with the periodic survey of the radio installation or in connection with an ISPS audit. In addition, testing shall be carried out regularly without live alert, cf. the ISPS Code, item To avoid any doubt that a test is being carried out, it is important to stress the necessity of correct operation and of having informed both MAS SOK and the CSO about the coming test of the live alert. Sequence of testing The test should only be carried out by the master, an officer or a surveyor from a recognised classification society if they have sufficient knowledge of the method to be used for the actual system on board and only according to the following sequence: 1. MAS SOK is contacted at the following telephone number: and requested to approve the coming transmission of a security alert. A reply is requested in the form of a copy of the alert notice (by fax or ) so that the master may ensure that the equipment has been coded correctly. 2. The CSO is informed about the testing. 3. The procedure for the testing of the relevant system is read 4. The testing is carried out Contact: ro@dma.dk 4 Revision no. 01

5 5. Receipt is awaited from MAS SOK 6. Subsequently, the receipt must be filed Consequently, the alert must not be tested until MAS SOK has confirmed that a testing of the live alert has been approved. In this connection, it should be remembered that MAS SOK will only reply to a notified security alert. SSAS defects If it becomes apparent that the ship s security alert has not been coded correctly, the CSO shall be informed immediately and a technician shall be summoned to insert the correct data. Subsequently, the technician shall carry out a full testing together with the SSO of the SSAS in accordance with the above-mentioned sequence. If it is not possible to correct a defect found until at the next port, MAS SOK shall be informed as soon as possible through the CSO, who shall report all relevant details about the defect. Documentation for the testing of the SSAS It shall be possible to document the testing and the master shall file the necessary documentation on board. If it can be proven that the SSAS has been tested live with a satisfactory result at the latest survey of the radio installation, the SSAS shall not required to be tested live again at the next ISPS audit. The classification societies have been informed about this through the Danish class agreement. Should the auditor, nevertheless, consider it necessary to test the SSAS again, this test shall have the form of a test without submission to MAS unless there is reason to presume that the system does not function. Confidentiality in connection with testing of SSAS The ship s procedure for the operation and location of the SSAS is confidential information. Since the SSAS is, however, considered a part of the survey of the radio installation, the master shall require documentation that the radio surveyor has the necessary approval from his company. If the surveyor cannot document such an approval, the survey of the radio installation shall be carried out without testing the SSAS, and the CSO shall be informed as soon as possible. Transmission of a test alert internally to the shipping company The security alert system shall be tested regularly without live alert, cf. the ISPS Code, item It shall be possible to test the system on board in accordance with the user guidelines on the system and a written test procedure as well as internal security procedures. The material shall be written in a language understood by the officers. In addition, the shipping company shall decide whether it wants to lay down a policy on testing by the master at other intervals. In case a test alert is submitted, it shall under any circumstance be Contact: ro@dma.dk 5 Revision no. 01

6 clearly marked as a test. It is acceptable to use an intermediate link in connection with internal test alerts. Please observe that internal test alerts shall not be sent to MAS SOK. CSO list All Danish shipping companies shall inform the authorities about the name and contact information of all appointed company security officers. It is the responsibility of MAS SOK to keep the required CSO list updated. The list of the shipping companies CSOs is confidential. Correspondence about the CSO s contact information shall be forwarded to MAS SOK at the address mas@sok.dk. It is of the utmost importance that MAS SOK is constantly in possession of the correct contact information. It is the shipping company s responsibility that MAS SOK is constantly updated on contact information. Communication of Ship Security Alerts Security alerts shall be sent directly to MAS SOK as soon as possible without any delaying links. The first number of a recipient in the SSAS shall, consequently, be directly to MAS SOK. Service providers Some companies offer so-called monitoring services for security alerts. This service includes the reception of SSA from ships by a central office manned day and night and onwards submission to the relevant authority. Some shipping companies have chosen to use this service to meet the requirements made by foreign authorities for a very short response period as regards the onwards submission of security alerts. The Danish Maritime Authority does not approve such companies since the ISPS Code does not prescribe such an approval. The Danish Maritime Authority does not accept that live alerts are sent to the MAS through intermediate links. Assistance from the police and others In addition to the possibility of activating the security alert, the ship has the possibility of drawing on the local (nearest) police. If bomb threats are received, or the ship encounters a security-related situation such as suspicious cargo or left luggage, the master and the security officer shall be informed. Subsequently, the master will assess the situation in consultation with the SSO before acting. The master should insofar as possible and if time allows acquire advice from the local (nearest) police and involve the CSO before making his decision. Contact: ro@dma.dk 6 Revision no. 01

7 The master shall use his common sense as well as consider the instructions that may be of relevance in the ship s security plan before making the final decision about the handling of the situation. If the ship is at sea, the master shall contact MAS/SOK, which will subsequently offer direct guidance or arrange guidance from the police or other relevant authorities to the master. The master is by definition (A/6.1) always authorised to make the final decision on measures that he considers necessary to maintain the ship s safety or security-related status regardless of the shipping company s instructions. Change of security level (A/7.5) Security level in Denmark Only the authorities are capable of changing the general security level. The responsibility for the determination of the security level of the ISPS Code in Danish waters and on board Danish ships rests with the Danish Ministry of Defence. The local security level of each individual ship The master shall observe section 7 of the Code as well as the ship s security plan. Should circumstances including a request from the port necessitate the master introducing restricted securing of the ship, this shall be in accordance with the ship s security plan. Communication MAS SOK will communicate changes in the security level on board Danish ships and in Danish waters. The communication takes place via FLEETNET/SAFETYNET, for which reason it is essential that the shipping companies ensure that all Danish ships have coded ENID number of the Danish Maritime Authority in the primary Inmarsat-C terminal. Please see OXXO guidance no. 2 of 8 February 2007 issued by the Danish Maritime Authority. Furthermore, MAS SOK will communicate changes in the security level to the shipping companies in accordance with the CSO list. Similarly, information on the general security level will be available on the webpage of HELCOM DANMARK as well as on which are updated with relevant security-related information to the shipping industry on an ongoing basis. The master s obligations in connection with changes of the security level Immediately after having received information from MAS SOK about a change of the general security level, the master shall return a response to the CSO that this has been understood and that the ship will change its security level in accordance with the instructions as soon as possible. In this way, the CSOs collect responses from the shipping company s ships and subsequently forward a joint written ( ) response to MAS SOK giving the status of the shipping company s ships. Contact: ro@dma.dk 7 Revision no. 01

8 Special attention shall be paid to ships that do not confirm having received information about a change of the security level. Furthermore, the master shall, in case of local changes of the security level on board, ensure that the local authorities as well as the CSO are informed about this as soon as possible. Contact: ro@dma.dk 8 Revision no. 01