LS clears Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill

New Delhi, Aug 14 (UNI) The Lok Sabha today passed the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2004, which seeks to incorporate additional security measures by ships and port facilities so that Indian seafarers' employment and movements to other countries are not affected.

The additional provisions incorporated in the amendments related to ship identification number, port facility assessment, international ship security certificate, ship security alert system and control measures and compliance.

The Bill was introduced by Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T R Baalu, who said the Bill seeks to amend the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, with a vew to implementing the provisions of the ISPS Code.

Mr Baalu said since the implementation code also involved ports, it was proposed to consequentially amend the Indian Ports Act, 1908 so as to facilitiate a port facility in complying with the requirements of maritime security.

The Minister said India being a major seafarer supplying nation, it was essential to ensure that its seafarers' employment prospects and movements to other countries were not hampered for want of Seafarers' identity document. Accordingly, necesssary provisions were being incorpotated in the Bill.

The objective of the ISPS Code was to establish an international framework involving co-operation between contracting States, government agencies local administration and the shipping and port facilites used in international trade, to establish the respective roles and responsibilities of all concerned at the national and international level for ensuring maritime security.

It also aimed to ensure early and efficient collation and exchange of security related information to provide a methodology for security assessments so as to have in place plans and procedures to react to changing security levels and to ensure adequate and proportionate security measures. If the ISPS Code was not implemented, it would be difficult for Indian ships to secure entry in ports of other contracting countries and for foreign ships to visit Indian ports.

Mr Baalu said all 12 major ports were ISPS code compliant.

In reply to a question raised by a Member, Mr Baalu said there was adequate security to ensure that weapons of mass destruction were not carried through the Indian ports.

UNI