IMO: port security work continues after July 1

IMO: port security work continues after July 1    The International Maritime Organization said Thursday its $2.5-million global program on maritime and port security, which began in January 2002, will not stop on July 1, the international deadline for implementation of the organization’s International Ship and Port Facility Security code.
   The steady stream of requests to the IMO for technical assistance in the field of maritime and port security shows no sign of slowing, it said.
   To support this, a new “train-the-trainer” program has been developed that will assist governments to strengthen their maritime security implementation through the provision of trained instructors capable of delivering quality training at regional and national levels using IMO model courses. This program will start in the second half of the 2004, initially in the Asia Pacific region. The target audience will be instructors from national maritime training institutions responsible for the conduct of maritime security training courses.
   Total expenditure on the IMO program to date of $2.5 million has financed 18 regional and 42 national seminars or workshops.
   “Some 3,320 people have been trained across the ports of the developing regions and they are now putting into place the practical security mechanisms necessary to thwart the terrorist attacks to ships and ports in their countries,” the IMO said.
   The IMO has appealed to member governments to pay into its International Maritime Security Trust Fund to support the program over the coming biennium.