IMO LIKELY TO ADOPT U.S. SECURITY PROPOSALS

IMO LIKELY TO ADOPT U.S. SECURITY PROPOSALS    Joseph J. Cox, chief executive officer of the Chamber of Shipping of America, told a New York meeting of the U.S. Propeller Club on Tuesday that the International Maritime Organization was inclined to adopt a series of U.S. proposals increasing vessel and cargo security by the end of 2002.
   The IMO appears certain to endorse proposed rules that would require both ships and shipowners to file security plans, and for ships’ masters to appoint on-board security officers, Cox said. The IMO was less eager to back a proposal calling for identification to be filed for all seafarers, he said.
   “You are hearing the phrase, maritime domain awareness, a lot in Washington these days,” Cox said. “The realization has hit home that there can be no more business as usual, or business as it was done before Sept. 11.
   “The question of what actually is in a container has to be answered more accurately than ever in the past,” Cox said. “We can tell the government what we are told from the bill of lading and other documents, but for partial loads particularly, who really knows?” He noted that the FBI has become “extremely active” in assessing container security concerns.
   Cox said his main worry was that a perceived weakness in security in the shipping arena might “draw an attack from people who are now making it their business to kill Americans.”
   After an awards ceremony, the audience gave a standing ovation for the owners and crews of vessels that helped move more than a million people from lower Manhattan on Sept. 11.