SINGAPORE has urged shipowners and port facility operators to comply with IMOs maritime security requirements under the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) Code well before the stipulated deadline of 1 July 2004. “MPA targets to have all Singapore port facilities and SRS (Singapore Registry of Ships) to be compliant with the requirements of the ISPS Code and properly certified by April 2004,” Lee Seng Kong, senior director at the Maritime & Port Authority, told a maritime security seminar yesterday.

A potential split between the US and the IMO emerged today at the BIMCO general meeting. Discussing security issues, the US Coast Guard director of standards, Joseph Angelo, noted that, under the ISPS Code, long range vessel tracking is optional.

SINGAPORE has urged shipowners and port facility operators to comply with IMO’s maritime security requirements under the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) Code well before the stipulated deadline of 1 July 2004. “MPA targets to have all Singapore port facilities and SRS (Singapore Registry of Ships) to be compliant with the requirements of the ISPS Code and properly certified by April 2004,” Lee Seng Kong, senior director at the Maritime & Port Authority, told a maritime security seminar yesterday.