As you may know, on 30 October 2003, the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) issued Merchant Marine Circular No. 131 (Implementation of the ISPS Code) and announced eight Recognized Security Organizations (RSOs), (including this society), as authorized to undertake the verification process.

According to the circular, the approval of the Ship Security Plans (SSPs) has been solely delegated to Phoenix Vessel Services, Inc. (PVS), however actual audits for ships will be carried out by the eight RSOs mentioned in the above circular. Following submission of a report prepared by the RSO verifying the compliance with the approved SSP, the PMA will issue the International Ship Security Certificates (ISSCs).

However, following concerns expressed by the Japan Shipowners' Association (JSA) that SSP approval might not be completed within the limited time available, if the PVS is the only organization carrying out that task, PMA, on 21 December 2003, has revised Marine Circular No. 131, in order to add two more companies as RSOs for carrying out SSP approval. These are:

1. ST Education & Training Pte Ltd (STET) (http://www.stet.com.sg)
2. Universal Security Group (USG) (http://www.universesecurity.co.uk)

In response to this revised circular, ClassNK has established following procedures which will be applied for shipboard security system audits of ships registered in Panama:

1. As indicated in the ClassNK's "Handbook for Ship Security System Audit", applications for ship security system audit are to be submitted to the nearest local office of this society to the port where the audit is intended to be carried out;

2. Prior to the commencement of the audit, the auditor in charge will examine the SSP on board. As the SSP has not been approved by ClassNK or any of IACS' member societies, this examination will be more thorough than in other cases. Therefore, when applying for a ship security system audit, please also submit a copy of the self-check list used in submitting the SSP to a PMA designated RSO which approves SSP (it is not necessary to submit a copy of the SSP at application);

(To be continued)
3. The audit itself will be carried out in accordance with the standard procedures that apply to ships registered in other Administrations as well;

4. Upon satisfactory completion of the audit, the auditor in charge, having verified that the ship is in compliance with the requirements imposed by the ISPS Code, issues a Statement of Compliance;

5. At the end of an audit, if the auditor considers that the ship is not in full compliance with the ISPS Code, the audit will be regarded as "suspended", I.e., not completed. Therefore, the Statement of Compliance will not be issued. Applicants will then be requested to apply for a continued audit, after the rectification of the failure(s) pointed out, to the local office of ClassNK nearest to the port where such an audit is intended to be carried out;

6. After the successful completion of the audit, the ClassNK Safety Management Systems Department will forward the relevant audit records and the Statement of Compliance to the Panamanian Administration for issuance of an ISSC, as the Administration retains the sole right to issue ISSCs.

(For your information)

In the Asian region, ST Education & Training Pte Ltd has been appointed for SSP approval. ClassNK has maintained good communications with the company including jointly hosting CSO training course in Asian Region, as the two