Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2003)

Government Update

Maritime Organization (IMO) for a requirement that flag administrations gather information regarding the true and beneficial owners of ships registered in that country, rather than just the owner of record. The concern was that terrorist organizations, such as al Qaeda, might own ships through cover organi- zations. The ships could then be used for a variety of illegitimate purposes, ] • x»r- •14 rl including smuggling weapons and ter- rorists in and out of countries and carry- ing weapons of mass destruction into vital ports for detonation. This particu- lar effort to enhance transparency on the iitf- international level was not adopted, but other efforts have succeeded.

A new international requirement was adopted for flag administrations to pre- pare and issue Continuous Synopsis

Records for each ship in its registry that engages in international trade. The

Record will contain, among other things, the name of the flag state; the date of registration; the ship's identifica- tion number and name; the port of regis- tration; the names and addresses of the registered owners, registered bareboat charterers, and operating company; and the name of the classification society for the ship. The Record is to be updated regularly so that it provides a continuous history of the ownership and operation of the ship. While not as extensive as the United States originally wanted, the

Continuous Synopsis Record will pro- vide a greatly expanded database for port state control officials once it comes into effect on July 1, 2004.

Ships will also be required to perma- nently mark their identification number in a visible place on the hull and on a major bulkhead. This will provide yet another means for coastal states and port states to readily identify vessels in their vicinity. It should also make it easier to track down vessels that violate pollution or other laws. At the request of the

United States, the dates by which ships are to install and operate automatic iden- tification system (AIS) equipment have been advanced. The technology was originally developed for navigational use, but during the re-evaluation of secu- rity issues following the terrorist attacks it was realized that AIS could be used to better identify ships as they came into range of shore installations. Efforts are now being made to develop a version of

AIS that utilizes satellite communica- tions, so that ships can be tracked worldwide, not just in coastal waters (using current AIS technology).

Summary

While it is unclear how successful these U.S. efforts have been in identify- ing and rooting out terrorists, it is very clear that the information demands placed on the maritime and related industries are high. As noted above, the cost of just the expanded advance notice of arrival requirement is almost $7 mil- lion per year, according to government estimates. The cost in loss of a compet- itive edge has not been computed, and is probably incalculable, but may prove to be quite high. On the other hand, if the loss of transparency leads terrorists to forego use of the maritime sector as an avenue for their activities, the high price may be worth it. Only time will tell.

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