NATIONAL AUTHORITIES RESPONSIBLE FOR SHIP SECURITY - SOLAS REGULATION XI-2/13.1.1
The Director of Maritime Affairs is the Government official for Security related issues according to Part A of the ISPS Code and the Merchant Shipping (Ships and Port Facility Security) Regulations, 2004. The Director shall set security levels for St. Kitts & Nevis ships.
The Coastguard shall set security levels and ensure the provision of security level information to ships operating in the territorial sea of St. Kitts & Nevis or ships that have communicated an intention to enter the territorial sea.
THE COAST GUARD POINT OF CONTACT IS:
Email: skndfcg@sisterisles.kn
Tel: + 1 869 465 8384/466 7312
Fax: +1 869 465 8406
SHIP TO SHORE SECURITY ALERTS
Ship Security Alert Systems, where these are required to be fitted to a ship, they should be programmed to initiate and transmit a ship-to-shore security alert (SSA) to the Competen Authority, this being the Company Security Officer (CSO)* responsible for the ship or an authorised third party (see below) which has been contracted by the company. The SSA should also be programmed to be sent to the Department of Maritime Affairs on email addresses maritimeaffairsskn@gov.kn. and to the flag Head Office e-mail address mail@skanregistry.com
When received by the Competent Authority, they are to verify whether the SSA is genuine or not.
The Competent Authority should then send a further email to the Department of Maritime Affairs AND to the International Ship Registry to advise whether the SSA is genuine, a false alarm or a test message. This further email should be sent as soon as possible.
IF THE SSA IS GENUINE
The Company Security officer should e-mail to the Department of Maritime Affairs a copy of the crew list and advise the cargo type(s) and quantity(s) on board and any other relevant information.
After receiving a message confirming that the SSA is genuine, the Department of Maritime Affairs:
- Will access the IMO Database to establish contact details of the nearby coastal states.
- The coastal states will be advised that a security alert has been received from the ship and the ship’s position.
- The Director of Maritime Affairs will then liaise with the CSO, St. Kitts & Nevis Coast Guard and coastal state for further action.
- Type Approval of Ship Security Alert Systems
Ship Security Alert Systems (SSAS) are required to conform to performance standards identified in SOLAS chapter XI-2 regulation 6. Standards are not to be inferior to those adopted by IMO – Resolutions MSC. 136(76), revised by MSC. 147(77), and A.694(17)
There are no provisions in SOLAS chapter XI-2 regulation 6, for Administrations to type approve systems. St. Kitts & Nevis Administration is therefore unable to type approve any SSAS. Ship specific systems will be reviewed by the recognised organisation on behalf of our Administration and approved as part of the ship’s security system verification.
St. Kitts & Nevis Administration recognise that certain owners and managers may have difficulty in monitoring SSA’s generated by their ships. Bearing this in mind this Administration recommends owners and managers to the use of a 24/7/365 SSA monitoring service in addition to their own CSO.
Authorised third parties are;
Gray Page Ltd
Email: enquiries@graypagelimited.com
Website: www.graypagelimited.com
Securewest International
Email: info@securewest.com
Website: www.securewest.com
Morsviazsputnik
Email: psokolov@marsat.ru
Website: www.mvsgt.ru
If an Owner/Manager wishes to use these companies services they should contact them direct.
However, notwithstanding this recommendation the ultimate responsibility for advising the Department of Maritime Affairs of Ship Security Alerts and any contravention of the Merchant Shipping (Ship & Port Facility Security) Regulations, 2004 rests with the Company & Master.
With the continuing prevalence of pirate activity off the Horn of Africa and into the wider Indian Ocean. The Industry Best Management Practices (BMP) contained in this booklet are to assist ships to avoid, deter or delay piracy attacks in the High Risk Area, as defined in section 2 (see Page 4).
Experience and data collected by Naval/Military forces, shows that the application of the recommendations contained within this booklet can and will make a significant difference in preventing a ship becoming a victim of piracy. Not all Ship Protection Measures discussed in BMP4 may be applicable to every ship type.
The potential consequences of not following BMP, as set out in this booklet, are severe. There have been instances of pirates subjecting their hostages to violence and other ill treatment. The average length of a hijacking of vessel and her crew is over 7 months.
In all cases, the industry Best Management Practices should be implemented to the greatest extent possible when entering the extended piracy zone off the Horn of Africa, as set out in MSC. Circ.1337.
Where possible, this booklet should be read with reference to the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (www.mschoa.com), and the NATO Shipping Centre, (www.shipping.nato.int), websites which provide additional regularly updated advice (including up to date alerts on piracy attacks).
St. Kitts & Nevis requires notification of security threats or incident. We take these to be as follows: bomb threat, threat of use of force, hijack, terrorist attack, piracy or any incident where firearms are involved.
Security details of ports can be found on IMO’s “Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) – www.gisis.imo.org
When preparing the passage plan or during the process of the voyage, the CSO, Master & Ship Security Officer should take into account any security information/advice received e.g. from our Administration, the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre (http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/overview.php), International Maritime Organisation or Regional Security Centres
Areas of high maritime security risk identified should be avoided as much as possible. If the areas cannot be avoided, CSO, Master/SSO should ensure enhancement of onboard security measures in order to minimize any security risk identified.
Shipowners, Managers & Masters should take note of and implement where appropriate, the advice and information contained in the IMO Circulars about Piracy which can be downloaded from the IMO website http://www.imo.org.
If a ship is sailing off the coast of Somalia, the western Indian Ocean and seas close to these areas shipowners, ship operators and managers, shipping companies and shipmasters should:
- Accept the advice of MSCHOA and ICS;
- Register the intended movement of their ship with MSCHOA via the website www.mschoa.org;
- Report the navigation route of their ship to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Dubai, when navigating through the Gulf of Aden and/or the Western Indian Ocean;
- Take prompt action in response to any alerts or guidance issued by MSCHOA, UKMTO Dubai, Maritime Liaison Office (MARLO) Bahrain, the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB PRC), ALINDIEN (Tel: +33 (0) 4 83 16 10 97 – alindien@free.fr) or any coastal State authority in the region so as to minimize the risk of attack; and
- Report any attacks or suspected pirate activity immediately to:
UKMTO Dubai (Tel: +97 1505523215 – ukmto@eim.ae)
or IMB PRC (Tel: +60 320310014 – imbkl@icc-ccs.org / piracy@icc-ccs.org)
with further reports to MSCHOA (opscentre@mschoa.org) and the regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre as soon as possible.
Our Government will not condone the use of armed guards onboard St. Kitts & Nevis ships.
We have registered our LRIT National Data Centre with the European Naval Protection Force in the Gulf of Aden (EUNAVFOR). This will allow EUNAVFOR to see the position of any of our ships that are sailing in the area of the Gulf of Aden to help deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy and armed robbery. It will greatly improve safety if the vessels voyage was registered with the Maritime Security Centre on the www.mschoa.org website to facilitate tracking.
If your clients have any questions about this please contact Terry Powell who is our liaison with EUNAVFOR.