Terms and Definitions (Part 2)

The term "ship", when used in this Code, includes mobile offshore drilling units and high-speed craft as defined in the relevant regulations.

Alternative Security Agreements (ASA) means a bilateral or multilateral agreement between Governments covering short international voyages on fixed routes between dedicated port facilities, allowing the security measures and procedures applied to the port facilities and ships to differ from those required under the Maritime Security Measures.

Application of the Measures means determining the port facilities covered by the Maritime Security Measures i.e. those required to appoint a PFSO and submit a PFSP, are to communicate their location along with the identity, title of their PFSO and the PFSP approval date. In cases where port facilities are occasionally used by ships on international voyages, undertake a port facility security assessment to decide the extent of application of the Maritime Security Measures.

Armed Forces Authority (AFA) means the organisation within the Government responsible for coordinating the military or security forces responding to a security incident.

Clear Grounds means reasons for believing that a ship does not comply with requirements of the Maritime Security Measures.

Company means the owner of the ship or any other organisation or person such as the manager, or the bareboat charterer, who has assumed the responsibility for the operation of the ship from the owner of the ship and who on assuming such responsibility has agreed to take over all the duties and responsibilities imposed by the International Safety Management (ISM) Code.

Competent Authority means an organisation designated by an Administration to receive and act on a ship-to-shore security alert.

Compliance Verifications means undertaking intermediate and renewal verifications of compliance for ISSC issuance.

Continuous Synopsis Record (CSR) is a record maintained and updated throughout a ship’s life and issued by the ship’s Administration under SOLAS Chapter XI-I, “Special measures to enhance maritime safety,” containing information, including the name of the Administration or Contracting Government who issued the ship’s current ISSC or Interim ISSC, and the name of the body who carried out the verification of which the Certificate was issued if not the Administration or Contracting Government. The original names of those who issued previous International Ship Security Certificates have to remain in the CSR.

Control and Compliance Measures mean actions that can be taken by a duly authorised officer when it is believed that clear grounds exist that a foreign-flagged ship does not comply with the requirements of the Maritime Security Measures; notifying the relevant Government when such measures have been applied to a ship, designating the contact point to receive communication from Governments exercising control and compliance measures and communicating the contact details to the IMO.

Declaration of Security (DOS) means an agreement reached between a ship and either a port facility or another ship with which it interfaces specifying the security measures each will implement.

Deficiency means a failure to comply with the requirements of the Maritime Security Measures.

Emergency response services include police, military, fire and ambulance services responding to a security incident or an accident.

Equivalent Security Agreement (ESA) means a Designated Authority or Administration allowing a port facility, a group of port facilities or a ship to implement additional security measures other than those in the Maritime Security Measures but equivalent to those in the Maritime Security Measures.

ILO/IMO Code of Practice see PDF.

Interim International Ship Security Certificate (Interim ISSC) is a Certificate issued by, or on behalf of, a ship’s Administration for a ship without an ISSC: on delivery or prior to entry into service, following transfer between Contracting Governments to the SOLAS Convention, the following transfer to a Contracting Government from a non-Contracting Government, following a change of the company operating the ship.

International Ship Security Certificate (ISSC) is a Certificate issued following verification by, or on behalf, of the ship’s Administration that the ship complies with the requirements in SOLAS Chapter XI-2 and the ISPS Code.

International Voyage means a voyage from a country to which the SOLAS Convention applies to a port outside such a country, or conversely (SOLAS Chapter I “General provisions”).

Maritime Security Measures means SOLAS Chapter XI-2 “Special measures to enhance maritime security” and the ISPS Code Parts A and B. dd Member State means a Member State of the International Maritime Organization or International Labour Organization.

Non-SOLAS port facilities mean port facilities to which the SOLAS Convention does not apply or which occasionally handle ships to which the Maritime Security Measures apply but do not have to appoint a PFSO or submit a PFSP.

A non-SOLAS Ship is a ship to which the SOLAS Convention does not apply – see the definition of the ship.

Port means the geographic area defined by the Government or Designated Authority, including port facilities as defined in the ISPS Code, in which maritime and other activities occur.

Port Facility means a location, as determined by the Contracting Government or by the Designated Authority, where the ship/port interface takes place. This includes areas such as anchorages, waiting for berths and approaches from seaward, as appropriate (SOLAS Chapter XI-2).

Port Facility Security Assessment (PFSA) means a risk assessment undertaken by, or for a Designated Authority which is provided to Port Facility Security Officers as a prelude to the preparation of a Port Facility Security Plan or the review, or amendment, of an approved Port Facility Security Plan. A port facility security assessment also has to be undertaken by, or for, the Designated Authority for port facilities occasionally used by SOLAS ships that have not had to appoint a Port Facility Security Officer.

The Port Security Officer (PSO) is the person tasked to manage and coordinate security in the port.

A Recognised Security Organisation (RSO) is an organisation with appropriate expertise in security matters and with appropriate knowledge of ship and port operations authorised to carry out an assessment, verification, approval or certification activity, required by the Maritime Security Measures.

Security Advice and Assistance: designating a contact point to provide security advice or assistance to ships or to receive reports of security concerns from ships and communicating contact details to the IMO.

Security Incident means any suspicious act or circumstance threatening the security of a ship, including a mobile offshore drilling unit and a high-speed craft, or of a port facility or of any ship/port interface or any ship-to-ship activity.

Security Plans: approving security plans submitted by port facilities (PFSPs) and shipping companies (SSPs), and any subsequent amendments.

Ship means a passenger ship carrying more than 12 passengers or a cargo ship engaged in an international voyage and includes high-speed-craft and mobile offshore drilling units MODUs. Generally, the provisions of the SOLAS Convention apply to cargo ships of, or over, 500 gross tonnes (gt). The Maritime Security Measures apply to passenger ships, as above, and to cargo ships over 500 gt. However, certain provisions from Chapter V “Safety of Navigation” of the SOLAS Convention also specifically apply to cargo ships of, or over, 300 gt. including the mandatory fitting of equipment associated with automatic identification systems (AIS) and long-range identification and tracking (LRIT) systems.

Shipboard Personnel means the masters and members of the crew or other persons employed or engaged in any capacity onboard a ship in the business of that ship, including high-speed craft, special purpose ships and mobile offshore drilling units, not on location.

Ship/Port Interface means the interactions that occur when a ship is directly and immediately affected by actions involving the movement of persons, goods or the provisions of port services to or from the ship.

Ship Security Alert Systems (SSAS): provides the means by which a ship can transmit a security alert to a competent authority onshore indicating that the security of the ship is under threat or has been compromised.

Ship Security Assessment means a risk assessment undertaken by, or for, a company security officer as a prelude to the preparation of a ship security plan or the review, or amendment, of an approved Ship Security Plan

Ship-to-Ship Activity means any activity not related to a port facility that involves the transfer of goods or persons from one ship to another.

A Short International Voyage is an international voyage in the course of which a ship is not at any time more than 200 nautical miles from a port or a place in which the passengers and crew could be placed in safety. Neither the distance between the last port of call in the country in which the voyage begins and the final port of destination nor the return voyage shall exceed 600 miles. The final port of destination is the last port of call in the scheduled voyage at which the ship commences its return voyage to the country in which the voyage began.

SOLAS Convention means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 as amended.

Threat is the likelihood that an unlawful act will be committed against a particular target, based on a perpetrator’s intent and capability.