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Glossary Term

ISPS Code

The ISPS Code is the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code: the IMO code that sets out how ships on international voyages, and the port facilities that serve them, assess security threats and apply protective measures. It is made mandatory through SOLAS chapter XI-2, which treats Part A of the Code as mandatory and Part B as recommendatory guidance.It was adopted on 12 December 2002 and has applied since 1 July 2004.

Which yachts it applies to

Chapter XI-2 and Part A apply to the following ships engaged on international voyages: passenger ships, including high-speed passenger craft; cargo ships, including high-speed craft, of 500 gross tonnage and upwards; and mobile offshore drilling units. They also apply to the port facilities serving those ships. Warships and other government ships used only on non-commercial service are excluded.

For a yacht in trade, SOLAS treats a ship carrying more than 12 passengers as a passenger ship and any other ship as a cargo ship. A commercial yacht carrying 12 passengers or fewer therefore falls under the Code when she is of 500 GT or over and on an international voyage, while a yacht carrying more than 12 passengers falls under it on international voyages whatever her tonnage. SOLAS chapter I excludes pleasure yachts not engaged in trade unless a regulation expressly provides otherwise, and the application regulation of chapter XI-2 contains no such provision.

Yacht codes can go further. Part A of the REG Yacht Code, for example, requires all yachts within its scope of 500 GT and over to comply with the ISPS Code, without a voyage condition. For a particular yacht, her flag state‘s requirements settle the question.

WHAT ISPS LOOKS LIKE ON A YACHT

Security levels

The Code defines three security levels:

  • Security level 1: minimum appropriate protective security measures maintained at all times.
  • Security level 2: appropriate additional protective measures maintained for a period of time because of a heightened risk of a security incident.
  • Security level 3: further specific protective measures maintained for a limited period when a security incident is probable or imminent, even if the specific target cannot be identified.

The flag Administration sets security levels for its ships, and a ship acts on the levels set by Contracting Governments. The ship security plan must provide for all three.

Roles, assessment and the ship security plan

The Company designates a company security officer, responsible ashore for the ship security assessment and the ship security plan, and a ship security officer on each ship, accountable to the master, who implements and maintains the plan on board. The plan must state that the master has overriding authority and responsibility for decisions on the safety and security of the ship.

The plan is based on a ship security assessment that includes an on-scene survey. It is approved by the Administration, which may entrust review and approval to a recognised security organisation; an organisation that approves a plan must not have prepared the assessment or the plan. The plan must be protected from unauthorised access or disclosure.

Part A requires drills at appropriate intervals. Part B recommends drills at least once every three months, with an extra drill within a week if more than 25 per cent of the crew is replaced at any one time by people new to the ship’s drills, and exercises at least once each calendar year with no more than 18 months between them. Crew security training is set out in the STCW Convention.

Declaration of Security and ship security alert system

A Declaration of Security is an agreement between a ship and a port facility, or another ship, stating the security measures each will implement. Contracting Governments decide when one is required, and a ship can request one in specified cases, such as when she is operating at a higher security level than the port facility.

Ships covered by chapter XI-2 must also be fitted with a ship security alert system. When activated, it sends a ship-to-shore alert to a competent authority designated by the Administration, which may include the Company, identifying the ship and her position; it does not alert other ships or sound an alarm on board. It can be activated from the bridge and from at least one other location.

Verification and certificate

A ship under Part A is subject to an initial verification before she enters service or before her certificate is first issued, a renewal verification at intervals not exceeding five years, subject to the Code’s provisions on certificate validity, and at least one intermediate verification. Where there is only one intermediate verification, it takes place between the second and third anniversary dates and is endorsed on the certificate. The Administration, or a recognised security organisation acting for it, carries out the verifications and issues an International Ship Security Certificate for a period it sets, of no more than five years.

ISPS and refit work

After a verification, no changes may be made to the security system, associated security equipment or the approved ship security plan without the Administration’s sanction, and the Administration decides which changes need an approved amendment to the plan before they are implemented. Moving or replacing security equipment covered by the plan during a refit, such as the ship security alert system’s activation points, should therefore be agreed with the flag or its recognised security organisation in advance. The Code addresses security; safety management is covered separately by the ISM Code.

Frequently asked questions

What happens when a private yacht moves into commercial use and comes under the Code?

Until her full International Ship Security Certificate is issued, the Administration may issue an Interim International Ship Security Certificate to a ship without a certificate before she enters or re-enters service. It is issued only after verification that, among other things, the ship security assessment has been completed, a ship security plan has been submitted for approval and is being implemented on board, and a ship security alert system is fitted where required. The interim certificate is valid for six months, or until the full certificate is issued if that is sooner, and cannot be extended. No consecutive interim certificate may be issued if the Administration or recognised security organisation judges that one purpose of the request is to avoid full compliance beyond the first interim period.

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