Trade and terror

The need to ensure the safety and security of vessels at sea and in port is as important as the high-profile fight against terrorism.

According to a report issued by the ICC International Maritime Bureau?s Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Centre, there were 370 reported attacks on shipping worldwide last year ? up from 335 in 2001. Most of the attacks occurred while the ships were at anchor.

The number of hijackings, involving the capture and taking of an entire ship, rose from 16 to 25 last year.

IMB figures also show that the number of attempted attacks dropped from 83 to 71 last year, while successful boardings rose to 247 from 219 in 2001. It said that this indicated that many ships were complacent about the need for additional precautionary measures. “Vigilant anti-piracy watch is still the best deterrent,” the report said.

IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said: “In some parts of the world it is all too easy to board a merchant vessel unlawfully. Against the current concern in respect of maritime terrorism, it is vital that coastal states allocate resources to patrolling their waters more effectively. Failing this, we do not foresee a reduction in these incidents.”

While the number of crew killed last year halved to 10, this concealed a “chilling” statistic. Another 24 passengers or crew went missing, most of whom are believed to be dead.

Indonesia was again the site of the most number of attacks, with 103 reported incidents in 2002. Bangladesh was second with 32 attacks, and India third with 18.

IMB also identified the waters off Somalia as a piracy hotspot, saying: “The risk of attack to vessels staying close to the coastline from Somali armed militias has now increased from one of possibility to certainty.”

Even as ships need to be increasingly vigilant at sea, security measures at ports are being stepped up. The US Customs has launched its much-vaunted Container Security Initiative, which aims to ensure that containers entering the US are free from weapons of terror and mass destruction.

As part of the CSI, introduced on February 1, the US Customs has imposed the advance manifest rule, which requires carriers to submit complete manifests on ship cargo 24 hours before a vessel sails. The manifest is transmitted to the US which would issue a “do not load” instruction for any suspected cargo. As part of the CSI, the US is also posting its own customs officers at various key ports including Singapore and Hong Kong.

At the recent International Maritime and Port Security Conference organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, speakers and delegates expressed concerns that this rule may slow down the shipping process.

At the conference, Vincent Lim, deputy president (Container Terminals/ International Business), PSA Corp, suggested that US customs officers based here should be empowered to decide which US-bound containers should be held rather than wait for their head office?s decisions.

He pointed out: “The concern expressed was, by the time the instruction is issued to the load port, due to time difference, for example, between the US and Singapore, the container could already have been loaded onboard the ship. To avoid this, it means shipping lines have to submit the manifest to US Customs earlier than the 24 hr deadline.” There is a 16-hour time difference between Singapore and the US west coast.

To get around this problem, some lines have implemented their own 72-hour or 36-hour deadline for submission of manifests to comply with the 24-hour rule.

Mr Lim added: “One suggestion which arose from discussions among the shipping community here, which is worth considering, is for the US Customs officers stationed in Singapore to take on the role of deciding and notifying the shipping line on withholding of containers for checking.”

In the first few days of the CSI, no “do not load” orders went out. Still, carriers are concerned over the potential quandary they may face.

P&O Nedlloyd Singapore-based country manager Paul Hoogwaerts said: “If US Customs decide to hold the boxes, who are we as a private company to tell the customer that his container is suspect. US customs should delegate it to the local customs to do so.”