Asha International Institute of Marine Technology

Introduction In the past terrorism at sea has been targeted at passenger ships, due to the high publicity and large potential demands on exchange for a large number of human lives. However, is recent times pirates have hijacked cargo ships and taken crew hostage for demanding reasons. At a conference of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) held in December 2002, a new security requirement was introduced for the Shipping Industry, namely the ‘International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.

STCW introduced mandatory training for Ship Security Officer on 1st January 2008 under Reg VI, Code A-VI/5. Now with the increasing number of Piracy and armed robbery incidents happening in many parts of the world STCW amendment 2010 has made mandatory w.e.f. 1st January 2014 security training for all seafarers with designated security duties, so as to provide them with the knowledge and training to implement procedures to make their ship a more secure place.