When the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted global maritime security measures in December 2002, it was with the knowledge that the 1 July 2004 deadline for their implementation would not be the day on which shipping became vulnerable to terrorist attack. The susceptibility of the global transport infrastructure to a potential attack from terrorist activity was made clear in the 11 September 2001 atrocities in the US and more recently by the train bombings in Madrid and the attempted attacks on oil installations off southern Iraq.
IMO’s work has centred on the preparation of an international regulatory framework for maritime security whilst emphasising to its Member States the need for urgent action and to be prepared for any eventuality in order to protect human lives, the environment, ships and cargoes, port facilities and the strategic shipping lanes that carry international trade in support of world trade.
Deadlines are meaningless to terrorists, who may decide to strike wherever and whenever such an act might suit their purposes. As with other issues affecting international shipping, terrorism is not a matter of concern to only one country or a group of countries. It has become a global issue, necessitating global action. In the maritime sector, such action can only be taken through IMO, which has developed a regime that sets out in detail what ship operators, ships’ crews, port authorities and others should do in order to minimise the very real security threat. This regime is made mandatory through amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). While the current climate has a heightened awareness of security-related matters, it is worth remembering that IMO’s work on security issues dates back to 1985, following the Achille Lauro incident, when terrorists hijacked an Italian cruise ship and killed a passenger.
In November 1985, IMO adopted Assembly Resolution A.584(14) on measures to prevent unlawful acts that threaten the safety of ships and the security of their passengers and crew, which invited the organisation’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) to develop detailed and practical technical measures to ensure the security of passengers and crews on board ships, taking into account the work of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Thereafter, in December 1985, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly called on IMO to study the problem of terrorism aboard or against ships with a view to making recommendations on appropriate measures.
In 1986, the MSC issued MSC/Circ.443 on measures to prevent unlawful acts against passengers and crews on board ships. In the same year, work began in IMO’s legal committee on the preparation of a convention on unlawful acts against the safety of maritime navigation. In March 1988, a conference in Rome adopted the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Navigation (SUA), together with a Protocol for the SUAs against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, which stated its aim as:
“to provide for a comprehensive suppression of unlawful acts committed against the safety of maritime navigation which endanger innocent human lives, jeopardise the safety of persons and property, seriously affect the operation of maritime services and thus are of grave concern to the international community as a whole.”
The main purpose of the SUA Convention and Protocol is to ensure that persons committing unlawful acts against ships (and against fixed platforms located on the continental shelf) will not be given shelter in any country but will be either prosecuted or extradited to a state where they will stand trial. The SUA Convention and Protocol came into force in 1992. In 1996, the MSC developed further guidance on security, issuing MSC/Circ.754 on passenger ferry security.
In the wake of the tragic events of 9/11, it became clear that the shipping industry needed a new, more stringent and more comprehensive set of security measures. Resolution A.924(22) on review of measures and procedures to prevent acts of terrorism which threaten the security of passengers and crews and the safety of ships, adopted by the IMO assembly at its 20- second session in November 2001, called for a thorough review of all existing measures already adopted by IMO to combat acts of violence and crimeat sea. At the same time, the assembly agreed to hold a diplomatic conference in December 2002, on maritime security, to adopt any new regulations that might be deemed necessary to enhance ship and port security and prevent shipping from becoming a target of international terrorism. The assembly also agreed to a significant boost to the organisation’s technical co-operation programme of £1.5 million, to help developing countries address maritime security issues.
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