Port of Singapore sets rules for SOLAS/ISPS compliance

Port of Singapore sets rules for SOLAS/ISPS compliance       The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has advised shipowners and ship managers that vessels calling at the port or transiting Singapore waters must comply with Regulations IX/1 of SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) 74 and the International Code for the Security of Ships and of Port Facilities (the ISPS Code) by July 1.
   Under the ISPS Code, each vessel must carry on board a ship security plan approved by a 'recognized security organization' that has verified and certified the compliance of the vessel with the SOLAS rules and the ISPS Code.
   The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has provisionally appointed five classification societies as recognized security organizations: the American Bureau of Shipping, Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, Lloyd's Register of Shipping, and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai.
   All cargo ships of 500 gross tons and above, all passenger vessels, and mobile offshore drilling units must comply with the SOLAS rules and the ISPS Code.