Ship Security Alert Systems (SSAS)

Shipping Notice: CISN 06/2007

Published 9th October 2007, 4:12pm

Printable Version

Background

Regulation 6 of Chapter XI-2 of SOLAS requires ships to be provided with a Ship Security Alert System (SSAS). The same regulation requires that Governments put in place measures to receive and act on SSAS signals originating on ships flying their flags. As a British Overseas Territory, SSAS signals originating from Cayman Islands ships will be received and acted on by the United Kingdom Government.

This Shipping Notice has been updated in light of experience gained since the introduction of SSAS and to reflect that all ships Subject to SOLAS XI-2/6 must now be fitted with SSAS. This Shipping Notice also contains information for ships and yachts not subject to SOLAS XI-2 who wish to carry SSAS on a voluntary basis.

Carriage Requirements:

Ships on international voyages are required to be provided with a Ship Security Alert System as follows:

• passenger ships and high-speed passenger craft.
• bulk carriers, tankers, gas carriers and cargo high-speed craft of 500 gross tonnage and upwards.
• other cargo ships of 500 gross tonnage and upwards.

SSAS systems may be fitted to other ships on a voluntary basis, but the routing of the alert message is separate from that used on “SOLAS Ships”.

Performance Standards - Resolution MSC.136(76) and Resolution MSC.147(77)

The SSAS should comply with the general requirements of A.694(17). There should be evidence that the EMC requirements of IEC 60945 are complied with. There should also be evidence that the system will work in the environmental conditions likely to be encountered. This may be shown by evidence that the environmental conditions of IEC 60945 are complied with or that operation under the conditions likely to be encountered on the ship can be satisfactorily achieved. This may be demonstrated by appropriate Type Approval, however Type Approval is not required for SSAS installations.

If the system utilises GMDSS radio equipment there should be evidence that the functionality of the GMDSS installation is not impaired. If the system uses other radio equipment there should be evidence of an appropriate radio licence. If the system works over telecommunication systems provided by third parties such as INMARSAT there should be evidence of the provider’s approval.

Activation Points

Two activation points are required, one on the bridge and the other elsewhere. These may be fixed or portable telephone handsets, fixed or portable keypads or fixed or portable buttons. The activation points shall be protected against inadvertent activation e.g. by a cover over a button. It shall not be necessary however to have to break any seals to activate the SSAS.

Activation points, such as buttons, shall not require any adjustments to be made to any equipment for the alert to be activated. Once the activation point has been activated, no further input from persons onboard the ship shall be required except for the deactivation and reset of the SSAS, if such functions are performed onboard.

The Alert (on ships subject to SOLAS XI-2/6)

The system, when activated, shall not send an alert to other ships or raise an alarm on board the ship. The alert shall be sent to the competent authority, which is the “company” as defined in SOLAS IX/1 (or to a security services organization) and by email to the Cayman Islands Shipping registry (CISR) and to the United Kingdom MRCC based in Falmouth (Falmouth MRCC).

The message shall contain the following information:

• a clearly distinguishable header indicating “Ship Security Alert” (which should be distinguishable from a GMDSS alert)
• the identity of the ship (which must include the IMO number)
• the location of the ship (lat/long or descriptive position together with time)
• an indication of the type/make/model of the system used.

The Falmouth MRCC will not initiate a response until conformation has been received that the alert is unlikely to have been caused by a false activation. This should be confirmed in accordance with the procedures contained in the Ship Security Plan to limit false alerts (ISPS A/19.4.18).

The result of the confirmation shall be sent to the CISR and to Falmouth MRCC as soon as possible after the alert has been received.

The Alert (on ships NOT subject to SOLAS XI-2/6)

If a ship or yacht is not subject to SOLAS XI-2 it will not hold an International Ship Security Certificate or implement a Ship Security Plan approved by the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry. As such, no records are maintained by the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry regarding Company Security Officers or others who should be contacted in connection with a SSAS message received.

For this reason, SSAS messages should NOT be sent automatically to either the MRCC in Falmouth or to the CISR. Instead, the alert should be sent from the ship to the owner’s nominated representative(s). See Appendix B of this Shipping Notice.

Deactivation/Re-setting

There should be means to stop automatic repeats of alerts either on the ship or by the Company. The CISR and Falmouth MRCC should be notified when the security incident has terminated.

Testing

It should be possible to test the system at least every 3 months without involving the CISR or Falmouth MRCC. The test alert message should be able to indicate that the message is a test.

Use of Third Party Service Providers

SOLAS II-2/6 requires that the SSAS equipment onboard initiates and transmits a security alert to a competent authority designated by the Administration. For Cayman Islands ships this “competent authority” is always the company itself.

Should the company wish to utilise a third party service provider to manage SSAS messages from their ships they are free to do so without prior approval from the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry.

When the status of an alert message is being confirmed in accordance with section 5.4 of this Shipping Notice the confirmation must include a copy of the original alert email message. This is to demonstrate that the service provider has been authorised by the company to act on their behalf with regard to SSAS alert messages.

If the conformation required by section 5.4 is not received within a reasonable time, the CISR will contact the Company Security Officer directly for clarification.

Annex A

Key stages in complying with the requirements of this Shipping Notice for ships subject to SOALS XI-2/6.

When installing the Ship Security Alert System:

1. Ensure the SSAS will automatically contact:

   1. The Company as the competent authority for receiving ship security alerts.
   2. The UK MRCC by email at falmouthcoastguard@mcga.gov.uk.
   3. The Cayman Islands Shipping registry by email at ssas@maci.gov.ky.

2. Implement a method of determining the status of any alert received by the Company (identifying false alerts) without compromising the covert nature of ship security alerts. Please note that a simple telephone call to the ship asking if everything is “all right onboard” does not meet this requirement as the persons onboard may be under duress in the event of an actual security breach requiring use of the SSAS.
3. Ensure that the Company can receive and act upon ship security alerts received at any time.
4. Ensure that the Company can contact the following, by both telephone and email, at all times:

   1. The UK MRCC (See Appendix C for contact details)
   2. The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (See Appendix C for contact details)
   3. On receipt of a ship security alert originating from a Cayman Islands registered ship, the Company shall:

5. Confirm the status of the alert without compromising the covert nature of the ship security alert.
6. Notify the UK MRCC and the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry of the status of the transmitted alert
7. Make the resources of the Company available to those agencies appointed by the United Kingdom Government to respond to the ship security alert.

Annex B

Key stages in complying with the requirements of this Shipping Notice for ships NOT subject to SOALS XI-2/6 but carrying SSAS equipment on a voluntary basis.

When installing the Ship Security Alert System:

1. Ensure the SSAS will automatically contact the nominated representative of the ship owner.
2. Implement a method of determining the status of any alert received by the owner’s nominated representative (identifying false alerts) without compromising the covert nature of ship security alerts. Please note that a simple telephone call to the ship asking if everything is “all right onboard” does not meet this requirement as the persons onboard may be under duress in the event of an actual security breach requiring use of the SSAS.
3. Ensure that the owner’s nominated representative can receive and act upon ship security alerts received at any time.
4. Ensure that the owner’s nominated representativecan contact the following, by both telephone and email, at all times:

   1. The UK MRCC (See Appendix C for contact details)
   2. The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry (See Appendix C for contact details)
   3. On receipt of a ship security alert originating from a Cayman Islands registered ship, the owner’s nominated representative shall:

5. Confirm the status of the alert without compromising the covert nature of the ship security alert.
6. Notify the UK MRCC and the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry of the transmitted alert only when conformation has been received that the alert is unlikely to have been caused by a false activation.
7. Make applicable resources available to those agencies appointed by the United Kingdom Government to respond to the ship security alert.

Annex C

CONTACT DETAILS

MRCC Falmouth:

The e-mail address for ship security alerts is falmouthcoastguard@mcga.gov.uk.

The telephone number for ship security alerts is +44 1326 315726 or +44 1326 317700. In the event of one telephone line being busy, use the other. These lines are “emergency only” lines and must only be used to confirm an active ship’s security alert.

(The telephone number for other contact is +44 1326 310800.)

Cayman Islands Shipping Registry:

The email address for ship security alerts is ssas@maci.gov.ky

To minimise the possibility of a “missed call” the CISR has implemented a cascade calling system that utilises our worldwide network of offices:

Although primarily intended for use in conjunction with active ship security alerts these numbers may also be used for reporting serious breaches of security threatening the immediate safety or security of the ship or those onboard.

Secondary Contact Numbers

In the event that contact can not be established with the above numbers at the times indicated, the following numbers can be called at any time:

For further information contact: Corporate Communications