IMO reports late improvement in ISPS code compliance

IMO reports late improvement in ISPS code compliance    With six days to go until the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code's July 1 implementation deadline, the International Maritime Organization said Friday ships and port facilities have increased compliance levels with the security rules, but suggested full compliance will not be reached in time.
   A June 25 survey of 45 IMO member governments showed that 9,292 of 22,479 ships liable to implement the code have received their international ship security certificates, representing a proportion of 41.3 percent. The ratio compares with a percentage of 33 percent reached June 21.
   Security compliance among ports lags behind that of ships. The IMO’s latest survey of 66 governments showed that 2,243 of 7,032 port facilities under the responsibility of those governments have complied with the code — or 31.9 percent.
   Efthimios Mitropoulos, IMO's secretary-general, said the proportion of port facility plans approved, while still low, was increasing.
   “I trust that this trend will continue so that, at least, those port facilities handling the majority of world trade will be compliant by the entry into force deadline,” he said.
   He added he feels “encouraged” by the fact that information provided by the industry organizations indicates that certain particularly vulnerable categories of ships — including passenger ships and tankers — are showing a high rate of compliance.