UK ports falling behind ISPS timetable
By Janet Porter Thursday November 06 2003 MANY smaller UK ports are unlikely to meet the deadline for complying with new global security rules, industry leaders warn. Even the 60 priority ports will be hard-pressed to have the necessary security arrangements in place by the time the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code comes into force next July, according to John Dempster, head of the UK Major Ports Group. Both port operators and security firms have been critical of the government's decision to let its Transport Security Directorate carry out port assessments in-house, rather than appoint external security experts to do the work. However, Britain is not alone in falling behind the high-speed timetable for making sure port facilities comply with the new security standards. In the UK, TranSec inspectors are now assessing the 60 priority facilities on security arrangements, after which each must produce a plan that must then be approved before work on better perimeter fencing, lighting, or other such improvements can begin. "The timetable is very tight," said Mr Dempster. At the same time, each facility must ensure that it has an approved port facility training officer, but the initial list of companies approved to run training courses was only published late last week. Neither is it absolutely clear what constitutes a port facility, with a number of grey areas in large port complexes such as Southampton. In the meantime, the many UK ports that are not on the priority list are likely to have a long wait before their facilities are assessed and a security plan drawn up, leaving the prospect of meeting the July target date looking increasingly remote. But unless some flexibility is granted, lack of compliance with the ISPS Code could hit trade, industry sources are predicting.
