Singapore wants ISPS to apply to smaller vessels

Singapore’s Transport Minister, Yeo Cheow Tong, says that the ISPS Code, which applies to cargo ships of 500 gross tonnage and upwards, must extend to smaller vessels which, potentially, pose a serious maritime threat. Many in the shipping industry believe that the security threat comes from smaller vessels particularly given that several successful terrorist attacks at sea have occurred through the use of small speed boats packed with explosives. Examples that spring to mind are the attacks on the USS Cole and the VLCC tanker Limburg off Yemen.

Yeo Cheow Tong cautioned that vessels should not just abide by the security measures implemented under the ISPS Code which is really the bare minimum that ports and ships are required to put into effect. These measures will not, in practice, be a deterrent to any determined terrorists prepared to launch an attack. Countries that are concerned with maritime security, like Singapore, given its dependence on maritime time, need to go beyond the ISPS code. The requirement for smaller vessels to be tracked and to be checked are steps in the right direction and the installation of a radar systems that can track real time, similar to aviation tracking, would help in this instance.

Singapore’s participation in the Container Security Initiative will help improve security on containers, and various US led initiatives will also improve port, container and ship security, which is required. Customs and procedures need to be tightened up while, at the same time, non-invasive ways of ensuring that the cargo that is declared is really the cargo that’s been stated on the various forms such as sensor equipment, need to be installed.