The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the ISPS Code

At the 22nd Assembly of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the organisation's members unanimously agreed to take measures to secure ships and port facilities.

The Conference of Contracting Governments for the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS Convention) of 1974 adopted resolutions on amendments to the Convention Annex (Chapters V and XI-2) and the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.

What ultimately prompted the IMO to adopt these measures were the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center’s twin towers on 11 September 2001. These were preceded by several other alarming events, including the hijacking of the Italian passenger ship Achille Lauro during a cruise in 1985; the pirate attack on the tanker Petro Ranger in 1998; the seizure by pirates of the freighter Tenyu in 1998; the pirate attack on the freighter Cheung Son in 1998; the disappearance of the freighter Alondra Rainbow, likewise following a pirate attack, in 1999; the suicide bombing of the warship USS Cole in 2000; and the disappearance of the Indonesian freighter Inabukwa and its cargo following a pirate attack in 2001. Other events likewise weighing on the decision included: the attacks on the World Trade Center of 1993, the wave of terrorist bombings that swept Mumbai, also in 1993, and the hijacking of PAN-AM Flight 103 in 1998, as well as, more recently, the 2002 attack on the oil tanker Limburg, the 2002 pirate attack on the tanker Han Wei, the 2005 terrorist attacks in Bali, etc.

The Code has jurisdiction over several types of criminal acts, including terrorism, smuggling, cargo theft, stowaways, illegal immigration, piracy and ‘collateral damage’ due to fires and explosions on ships and at port facilities, whether intentional or otherwise. Accordingly, it aims to secure ships and port facilities by: preventing the entry of unauthorised individuals; preventing the entry of unauthorised weapons; preventing illicit drug and other types of smuggling; preventing theft and sabotage; and, in general, providing active preventive security services for ships and port facilities.

Royal Decree 1617/2007 on Ship and Port Facility Security (PBIP in Spanish)

Regulation (EC) No. 725/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council, of 31 March 2004, on enhancing ship and port facility security is the applicable law in the European Economic Area deriving from the amendments to the Annex to the SOLAS Convention (Chapters V and XI-2) and the International Code for the Security of Ships and Port Facilities (ISPS Code). This European regulation lays down only a partial set of measures required to achieve the desirable level of security in the maritime transport chain, since its scope is limited to those security measures applicable to ships and the immediate ship-port interface.

To achieve a higher level of security in the sphere of seaports, the European Union considered the need to implement further security measures in addition to those already established for port facilities, ships and the ship-port interface. The scope of these new measures would cover all other port areas and even, where applicable, certain areas outside or bordering the port. To this end, Directive 2005/65/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, of 26 October 2005, on enhancing port security, was approved. It was transposed into Spanish law through Royal Decree 1617/2007, of 7 December, establishing measures to enhance port and maritime transport security.

• Consultative Committee on Port Security.

Consultative committees on port security are governed by Royal Decree 1617/2007, of 7 December. The Port of Tarragona's committee was set up by resolution of the Port Authority's Board of Directors on 16 December 2008. The Consultative Committee on Port Security of the Port of Tarragona met for the first time on 18 December that year.

The committee's members include representatives of the Port Authority itself, which is also the Port Security Authority and serves as chairman and secretary of the committee, and representatives of other public authorities, which serve as ordinary members. This latter group includes the harbour master, customs, civil defence, the health authorities, the provincial government, national law enforcement agencies, the naval command, the regional police and the city government.

The Consultative Committee on Port Security has the following functions:

a) To approve its own internal rules of procedure.

b) To draft procedures and protocols for cooperation and coordination between participating organisations and bodies, and between them and the rest of the organisations and bodies affected by or interested in matters of ship, port facility and port security.

c) To offer suggestions and recommendations to the national authority with jurisdiction over maritime security with a view to improving the security of maritime transport, ships, port facilities and ports.

d) To issue a report on the port security assessment and plan, as well as any modifications thereto, prior to their approval.

e) To assist the Port Security Authority during crises.

f) To collaborate on the scheduling and execution of port facility and ship security exercises and drills.

• Port Security Officer (OPP in Spanish)

By resolution of 16 December 2008, the Tarragona Port Authority's Board of Directors appointed the Port of Tarragona's Port Security Official. A member of the Consultative Committee on Port Security entitled to speak and vote, this official also serves as the secretary thereof.

The Port Authority appointed the Port Security Officer in its capacity as Port Security Authority, which, pursuant to Royal Decree 1617/2007, determines said official’s functions and duties, including, among others, that of liaising on security matters at the Port of Tarragona.

• Port Facility Security Officer (OPIP in Spanish) directly managed by the Port Authority

The Tarragona Port Authority also has an officer responsible for the security of those port facilities under its direct control, i.e., those port facilities that have not been assigned to a third party and are subject to the ISPS Code and Regulation (EC) No. 725/2004, of the European Parliament and the Council, of 31 March 2004, on enhancing ship and port facility security.

Port Security:

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