Marine safety

MARITIIME SECURITY: is concerned with the prevention of intentional damage through

sabotage, subversion, or terrorism and from a broad persepctive, relate to concerns such as:

 International peace and security

 Sovereignty/Territorial integrity/Political independence
 Security from crimes at sea [Piracy or armed hijackings]
 Resource security
 Environmental security
 Security of seafarers and fisheries

The major threats for maritime security are:

 Threat or use of force against the sovereignty,

territorial integrity or political independence of a
State
 Terrorist acts against shipping, offshore
installations and other maritime interests, illegal
transport of WMDs, unlawful acts
 Piracy and armed robbery at sea
 Transnational organized crimes, e.g., smuggling
of migrants, narcotic drugs, arms
 Threats to resource security, e.g., illegal,
unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing
 Environmental threats, e.g., major pollution
incident, illegal dumping

MARITIME SAFETY: is concerned with the prevention of accidental damage or incidents of

marine environmental pollution or loss of life at sea through the development of technical
support systems; the auditing of recognised classification societies; development of  common
methodologies for the investigation of maritime accidents and; the establishment of vessel
traffic monitoring and information systems.

Maritime Safety also embraces the development of Search and Rescue, Ports of Refuge and the
development of emergency and contigency planning.

Understanding Ship Security Plan On Board Ships

What Is Ship Security Plan (SSP)?

Ship Security Plan (SSP) is a plan that is formulated to ensure that that the measures laid out in
the plan with respect to the security of the ship are applied onboard.

This is in place to protect the personnel, cargo, cargo transport units, stores etc from any
security-related risks.

The plan specifies responsibilities and procedures to counteract any anticipated threat to the
vessel and her cargo.

The ISPS Code makes it mandatory for a vessel to have such a plan in place. The SSP must lay
out the protective measures for each security level vis a vis ship related activities, access
control onboard, monitoring of the restricted areas, cargo handling, receiving of stores/baggage
etc.

The CSO must ensure that the ship is provided with such a plan commensurate with the ISPS
Code. The SSP is a critical document, the information of which is to be restricted to designated
personnel on board and not shared deliberately; the plan must be protected from unauthorised
access or disclosure.