Security is a vital component for the maritime sector, and by extension, for the entire global economy.

With over 80% of world trade being moved by sea, the complex network of international supply chains depends on the maritime sector to transport vital commodities, equipment, and consumer goods across borders and continents.

Maritime security underpins all this economic activity, ensuring ships, their crew, and their passengers can travel safely across our oceans and seas, and be safe while at berth in ports.

SAFEMED V: security in focus

Security in international maritime trade is mainly addressed by the special measures to enhance maritime security contained in Chapter XI-2 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the International Code for the Security of Ships and of Port Facilities (ISPS), adopted  at the end of 2002 and entering into force on 1 July 2004. Collectively, these legal instruments aim to reinforce more targeted security initiatives by introducing an overarching and uniform risk assessment and mitigation mechanism on an international scale.

At EU level, these instruments have formed the basis for specific EU legislation, namely Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on enhancing ship and port facility security and Directive 2005/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on enhancing port security. Compared to SOLAS and ISPS, the EU security framework is more prescriptive and much broader, making the application of some of their optional provisions mandatory, requiring a formal national implementation programme and encompassing the entire port area, as opposed to the port facility alone.

The Action’s beneficiary countries (except for Palestine) are parties to SOLAS and must therefore implement Chapter XI-2 and ISPS in full, i.e., the mandatory part A of the latter, taking into consideration the guidance provided in its part B. This involves actions at all governmental levels dealing with flag, coastal and port State obligations (much like other IMO instruments), placing a significant administrative burden on Contracting Governments.

Under SAFEMED V, EMSA will offer a structured maritime security assistance package to the beneficiary countries, incorporating first and foremost the assessment of existing measures and the analysis of past capacity building activities, to determine further actions in consultation with relevant parties.

Any agreed action should also place special emphasis on the distinctive features of the EU maritime security legislation and aim, as far as feasible, to the approximation of standards.

Access to best practices and lessons learned from implementation activities in EU Member States could be included in the assistance package.