By
by Michele Witthaus |
From extreme weather events to piracy and from technological problems to infections, passenger ship operators face a wide array of challenges today. International regulations and best practice are constantly being updated in the quest for better solutions to longstanding safety challenges and emerging threats.
The US leads the way in initiatives targeted specifically at keeping leisure travellers safe at sea. The US Cruise Vessel Safety and Security Act, which was passed in Jan 2010, is aimed at preventing crime against cruise ship passengers travelling in and out of US waters and providing support for victims and their families. A key requirement of the law is that all cruise ships carrying US citizens and entering the country’s waters must provide at least one crew member who has been trained and certified by the US Coast Guard in crime prevention, detection and reporting as well as evidence preservation in the international maritime environment. Ship operators now have 18 months to install new features such as cabin door peepholes, on-deck CCTV video surveillance, emergency sound systems and higher cruise ship railings. New staff protocols regarding record-keeping and emergency protocols and there are tough penalties for non-compliance, including denial of entry to US ports, fines of up to US$250,000 or even imprisonment.
However, financial constraints can make it a challenge to fund the ever-growing list of interventions required to safeguard passengers and crew – or even the vessels they sail in. Internationally, countries are reviewing the cost of securing their coastlines and territorial waters, which has implications for the safety of all vessels, including cruise ships and ferries.
Proposed cutbacks to the UK’s coastguard under the guise of modernisation are being viewed with apprehension by many in the industry. Technological improvements are intended to bring efficiencies that will allow for a significant reduction of marine incident stations. This will see coastal emergencies dealt with by three high-tech communication centres rather than the much larger number of small centres that have traditionally monitored the country’s coastline. Further cost-cutting is planned with the privatisation of emergency towing facilities around the coasts. Facilities such as the Marine Incident Response Group and search and rescue helicopter service are also under threat.
This is in contrast to the situation across much of Europe, where many countries are ramping up marine safety, often through public-private partnerships. And as global shipping traffic continues to increase, these countries will be better placed than others to deal with both existing and new threats.
Just one example is Bulgaria, which last year announced that it had entered into a coastal defence contract with a private consortium to ensure the integrity of Bulgarian territorial waters by automatically detecting and identifying targets via 12 remote sites, equipped with radar, AIS transponders, cameras and weather stations. There are two mobile ground units and 12 border police boats, including surveillance and communication components. The system aims to prevent collisions or groundings of ships and help detect and intercept illegal traffic of drugs, weapons and immigrants. Bulgaria believes that this system is of strategic importance to the European Union.
The wide availability and affordability of positioning and signalling devices has vastly improved the safety of a wide variety of vessels at sea in recent years. Automatic Identification System (AIS) Class A transponders must now by law be fitted on all commercial vessels over 300 tonnes as well as on most passenger carrying vessels. The NMEA describes AIS as ‘the biggest step change in marine navigation safety since GPS became common place and affordable over a quarter of a century ago’. Although not a substitute for radar, it identifies the vessel’s name, call sign, home port, owner, current course and speed, facilitating inter-ship communication and preventing collisions.
An EU-funded project to control and monitor passenger safety functions on board ship enhances the ability to handle emergencies through real-time communication between ships and onshore facilities. FLAGSHIP-ISEMS (Integrated Safety and Emergency Management System) is an integrated, ship to shore system that gives both parties a full overview of the actual situation and enables effective assistance from on shore teams in an emergency situation. The idea is also to improve the efficiency of drills and training.
Combating piracy
The rapid rise of piracy incidents off the coast of Africa in recent months, and the increasing boldness of pirate tactics, have forced governments and shipping authorities into emergency meetings to plan a strategy to deal with the issue. Two attacks in August off the coast of Eritrea led the IMB Live Piracy Reporting to report on an apparent change of tactics by pirates, as they ‘swarmed’ a vessel in a joint attack of a kind not seen before. While large passenger ships have not until now been targets, there is no room for complacency.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea defines piracy as a universal crime and gives sovereign nations the right to seize and prosecute pirates. In April, the UN Security Council called on all states to criminalise piracy under their domestic laws and urged Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to consider setting up a regional or international maritime piracy tribunal.
Many factors affect how an incident of piracy is followed up, including the registry of the attacked vessel, the nationality of victims or crew. All play a role in the issue of establishing jurisdiction and for passengers or crew held hostage, delays caused while these issues are resolved can be life threatening.
Globally, countries are continuing to work together to find solutions to piracy. At a meeting in July, the board of the European Community of Shipowner Associations welcomed a strategy paper on piracy by the Danish Government and reiterated the urgency of a global strategy on the issue.
The paper advocates furthering international coordination and strengthening regional and bilateral cooperation through increased Danish naval and air force activities, with naval forces and a maritime surveillance plane made available until 2014. It also highlights the legal challenges posed by the combating of piracy. Items to be progressed from the strategy paper include tactics such as private armed guards, coordination between the different authorities and exchange of best practices. Meanwhile, the EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) and the European Maritime Safety Agency have jointly developed an integrated maritime monitoring service which enables EUNAVFOR to track merchant vessels in the High Risk Area off the coast of Somalia. The aim is to consolidate multiple sources of ship specific information and positional data in a real time environment. This will help counterpiracy forces to assess the risks facing ships in the high risk area, while providing early warning to those in imminent danger of piracy and providing support where needed.
Since high risk areas change frequently, ship owners can benefit from close communication with bodies that can give them up-to-the-minute advice. Countries within the current hot spots are waking up to the need to provide assurances to protect ships passing through their waters.
For example, the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority has advised masters of ships transiting or operating in the High Risk Area to register with both the UK Maritime Trade Organisation and the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa to speed up access to help in the event of an incident.
This is an abridged version of an article that appeared in the Autumn/ Winter 2011 edition of International Cruise & Ferry Review. You can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats.