The new security measures for maritime trade are both multilateral and bilateral. A new international regime for port and ship security mandated by the IMO will take effect from July, 2004. Checks on seafarers are also being tightened. The ILO adopted a convention in June 2003 that provides for new seafarer identification documents with a biometric imprint.

In addition, various measures are being implemented by a wide range of countries outside the framework of the United Nations. Many are driven by initiatives put in place by the US to guard against terrorist strikes. Concerned at America's vulnerability to a catastrophic terrorist attack from the sea, the US government has turned its attention to securing seaborne trade and the interlocking global supply chain. The aim of all these anti-terrorist measures is to “retrofit” the global system of commerce to make it more secure while not unnecessarily impeding the flow of goods.

IMO Regime

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on the US in September 2001, the IMO reviewed the state of maritime security. The IMO Conference of Contracting Governments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, held from 9 to 13 December 2002, adopted a number of amendments to the 1974 Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS). The most far-reaching are encompassed in the new International Ship and Port Facility Code (ISPS).

The Code contains detailed security-related requirements for governments, port authorities and shipping companies in a mandatory section (Part A), together with a series of guidelines on how to meet these requirements in a second, non-mandatory section (Part B). The IMO Conference in December 2002 also adopted a series of resolutions designed to add weight to the amendments, encourage the application of the measures to ships and port facilities not covered by the Code and pave the way for future work on the subject.

The mandatory measures include:

1. • installation of satellite-based automatic tracking and identity systems, including security alert signals to the nearest shorebased authorities in case a vessel is threatened, on all ships of 500 gross tons and above on international voyages.