Benefits born out of adversity
Improved security regulations prompted by 9/11 are to applauded. Credit: US Coast Guard
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 brought fundamental change to the ports sector. And while this change was born out of adversity much of it is change that can now be regarded as positive.
Most notable, the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code was developed by IMO in the wake of 9/11 and has since been rolled out all over the world with a major beneficial impact.
In the US, a package of other measures have been introduced including:
- A much stronger focus on cargo being imported. Lines are required to supply details well in advance of vessel arrivals to US Customs and Border Protection.
- An Importer Security Filing, widely known as the 10+2 filing, which has to be supplied 24 hours prior to loading. This requires container lines to supply two data elements and importers 10 key pieces of information, and
- In a vessel context, masters must file an Electronic Notice of Arrival (ENOA) 96 hours prior to arrival.
The European Union has been no less innovative. The IMO rules, incorporated into the Community legislation by means of a regulation, covered only the port interface. As far back as the development of Regulation 725/2004 the question arose as to whether the entire port area would benefit from being covered by a new security regime?
The unambiguous answer was “yes”. However the position of the national ports within the Member States was so heterogeneous, that the decision was made to leave the implementation of those provisions to the individual member states.
Accordingly, in February 2004 a draft Directive directly linked to the Regulation on security was adopted by the Commission. By 15 June 2007, member states had to comply with this Directive by bringing into force the appropriate laws, regulations and administrative provisions.
The Directive thus spread its new obligations not only across the areas covered by Regulation (EC) 725/2004 but into an expanded port area.
Asia, too, was the home of several new maritime security initiatives following 9/11. One prominent example is the Asia Maritime Security Initiative 2004 (AMARSECTIVE 2004), which aims to reduce maritime crime, piracy and terrorism through the introduction of comprehensive new security measures.
It set out commitments and responsibilities for all the various coastguard agencies as well as technical and other forms of assistance, including intelligence sharing between the 17 countries involved. It was the first such agreement aimed at tackling maritime crime and piracy, an aspect high on the agenda today.
It is most relevant to mark such changes and further initiatives in the pipeline on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
While such developments have and will increasingly place a much greater workload on diverse parties in the supply chain, overall they can be viewed as a positive legacy of 9/11. Progressively, they are making a substantial contribution to a safer transport system and society overall.
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