Marine Security Advisory: 04/2018 - NEW SECURITY GUIDANCE – Anti-Piracy, BMP5, and GCPG

MARINE SECURITY ADVISORY – 04/2018

(This Security Advisory replaces Security Advisory: 05/2015)

Subject: NEW SECURITY GUIDANCE – Anti-Piracy, BMP5, and GCPG

Reference:

1. Best Management Practices (BMP 5) for vessels transiting the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea
2. Global Counter Piracy Guidance (GCPG)

Dear Owners/Operators/Company Security Officers/Masters:

In June of 2018, the industry and government co-sponsors of “Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy off the Coast of Somalia and in the Arabian Sea Area” (BMP4) published a new version of “Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy and Enhance Maritime Security when transiting the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea” (BMP5) and the new Global Counter Piracy Guidance (GCPG) for Companies, Masters and Seafarers.

Background:

The revised BMP 5 was written jointly by shipping industry organizations and P&I Clubs and is supported by international law enforcement and military organizations. It complements guidance on piracy in the latest IMO MSC circular and addresses other threats specific to all ships operating in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea.

The new BMP5:

• Updates the risk/threat assessment, planning, reporting, and mitigation process.
• Updates transit corridors.
• Provides clear advice on the use of Private Maritime Security Contractors.
• Reiterates and updates self-protective measures.
• Updates reporting procedures and forms, with an emphasis on the role of the mariner in reporting suspicious activity to UKMTO.
• Identifies new maritime security threats that present a real danger to mariners in the region, to include concerns regarding regional instability and conflict, which have resulted in the targeting of ships by extremist groups using weapons such as anti-ship missiles, sea mines, and water–borne improvised explosive devices.

The new GCPG for Companies, Masters and Seafarers was also written jointly by shipping industry organizations and P&I Clubs and is supported by international law enforcement and military organizations. The GCPG provides general guidance to protect seafarers, the ship and cargo and, to facilitate threat and risk assessment and planning for voyages transiting areas where the threat of attack by pirates and armed robbers exists.

This guidance consists of:

• General advice and recommendations that are common to mitigate against attack by pirates and armed robbers;
• Guidance on threat and risk assessment, planning and the implementation of self-protection measures; and
• Appendix A providing information on other security threats and the fundamental requirements and recommendations to ensure that companies and ships can respond to those threats in a proportionate and dynamic way.
• Annexes providing information on regions where there is a risk of piracy and armed robbery and where prior planning and preparation before transiting the region is recommended.

This guidance is complementary to other industry regional guidance and that issued by international regional organizations such as the BMP5 and the Regional Guide to Counter Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia produced by ReCAAP ISC in collaboration with other regional organizations.

BMP 5 and the Global Counter Piracy Guidance are now both available on the following web sites: http://eunavfor.eu/media-room/ and www.mschoa.org. Both web sites contain additional security information.

There is also a new industry security web site: www.maritimeglobalsecurity.org, which all CSOs are encouraged to visit.

Reporting to MSCHOA and UKMTO:

Registering with and reporting to the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) and The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) when entering the Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA) and the MSCHOA vessel registration area are part of the key fundamentals of the new BMP 5 and the Global Counter Piracy Guidance (GCPG) developed by EURONAV. These areas are defined on maritime security chart UKHO Q6099.

The UKMTO acts as the primary point of contact for merchant ships and their CSOs, providing liaison with military forces in the region. UKMTO administers the Voluntary Reporting Scheme, under which merchant ships are encouraged to register transits and send regular reports. This registration establishes direct contact between the reporting ship and UKMTO.

The MSCHOA vessel registration is designed to inform military counter piracy forces of the transit of merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, it is essential for all ships to keep the naval forces operating in the area aware of their sea passages through these areas. MSCHOA encourages companies to register their ships’ movements before entering these areas and if participating in the group transit system via their website www.mschoa.org. When a ship has commenced its passage, they must continue to update the naval forces on their positions and movements.

A High Risk Area (HRA) is an industry defined area within the VRA where it is considered that a higher risk of attack exists, and additional security requirements may be necessary.

Upon entering the VRA, reporting should be done using the “Vessel Position Reporting Form - Initial Report”. Ship masters should also report daily to the UKMTO via the “Vessel Position Reporting Form - Daily Position Report”. Upon reaching port, or upon exiting the High Risk Area, ship masters are to submit the “Vessel Position Reporting Form - Final Report”. The reporting forms are attached as Annex D to the BMP. Once in the VRA reporting to the UKMTO is done via email: ukmto@eim.ae.

Masters of ships sailing within the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) while transiting through the Gulf of Aden should make use of the “Group Transit” scheme by registering with the MSCHOA. “Group Transits” have been established by the EU NAVFOR for vessels to conduct their passage through the UKMTO MSPA in groups, based on different passage speeds. This process is known as "GOA Group Transits" (GOA GT). In order to achieve this, the position, time, and speed for vessels to pass through a waypoint at the eastern and western limits of the UKMTO Transit Corridor are promulgated on the MSCHOA website: http://www.mschoa.org.

Implementing self-protection measures:

Liberian Flag Ships shall implement self-protection measures which would act as highly-visible deterrents. Such measures would include arrangement of additional lookouts, installation of physical barriers, and proceeding at full sea speed in the HRA. The guidance contained in the BMP and GCPG are based on actual piracy attacks and these measures should be viewed as the minimum standards to be adopted. Ships making frequent transits through or operating in the High Risk Area should consider taking additional self-protection measures beyond these recommendations to further reduce the risk of a successful piracy attack.

Requirements for Liberian Ship Owners, Managers, Operators and Masters:

1. Gathering Security Information:

Shipowners, managers and operators of Liberian flagged vessels are advised to instruct their shipmasters and crew to remain vigilant when passing through any High Risk Area and to monitor situational updates.

Contact MSCHOA prior to transiting the Western Indian Ocean, the Somali Basin, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea. The contact details of MSCHOA are:

Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (MSCHOA)

Email postmaster@mschoa.org

Telephone +44 1923 958545 +44 1923 958700

Fax +44 1923 958520 Website www.mschoa.org

Contact MDAT-GoG prior to transiting the Gulf of Guinea and off the coasts of Cameroon, Benin, Nigeria and Togo.

Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG)

Email: watchkeepers@mdat-gog.org

Phone: +33 - 2 98 22 88 88 (emergency)

Contact IFC Singapore prior to transiting the Straits of Malacca, and Singapore, the Southern Portion of the South China Sea, the Sulu-Celebs and certain ports and anchorages in Asia.

Information Fusion Centre Singapore (IFC Singapore)

Email: Information_fusion_centre@defence.gov.sg

Phone: +65-6594-5728, +65-9626-8965

1. Voyage Planning:

The Liberian Administration requires that Liberian Ships include Security as an element of the voyage planning and that Masters of Liberian flagged ships implement appropriate security measures following the guidance provided in BMP5 and the GCPG.

1. Vessel registration

As indicated below, Liberian ship operators are to register their vessels:

• 1. When transiting the Western Indian Ocean, the Somali Basin, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and Red Sea.Register their vessels with UKMTO

Email: watchkeepers@ukmto.org and ukmto@eim.ae

Phone: +44 - 2392-222060, +971-50-552-3215 Fax +44 1923 958520

• 1. When in the Gulf of Guinea and off the coasts of Cameroon, Benin, Nigeria and Togo.

Register their ships with MDAT-GoG

Email: watchkeepers@mdat-gog.org

Phone: +33 - 2 98 22 88 88 (emergency)

1. When in the Straits of Malacca, and Singapore, the Southern Portion of the South China Sea, the SuluCelebs and certain ports and anchorages in Asia.

Register their ships with IFC Singapore,

Email: Information_fusion_centre@defence.gov.sg Phone: +65-6594-5728, + 65-9626-8965

The reporting requirements apply even if the ship is stationed for prolonged periods in ports or in the offshore waters of ports in the vicinity of any high risk area.

1. Incident Reporting:

The immediate and subsequent incident reports should contain the information listed on the reporting form provided in Annex E of BMP5. Further, shipowners and shipmasters are required to send reports of any attacks or attempted attacks onboard their ships immediately to the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) for the operating area in accordance with MSC.1/Circ.1334, to the appropriate contact provided above in Part 3, and to this Administration.

We have amended the attached Security Check list to incorporate references to both the BMP5 and the Global Counter Piracy Guidance.

BMP5, GCPG, as well this this notice, the Security Checklist, and other Security Advisories are all available at www.liscr.com.

For more information, please contact the Security Department at telephone + 1 703 790 3434 or via email at security@liscr.com.

In case of an afterhours emergency please contact the LISCR Duty Officer + 1 703 963 6216 or via email at dutyofficer@liscr.com.

* * * * *

THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA

LIBERIA MARITIME AUTHORITY

Anti‐Piracy Checklist

Arriving to and Operating within the High Risk Area

22980 Indian Creek Drive,

Suite 200

Dulles, Virginia 20166, USA

Tel: +1 703 790 3434 Fax: +1 703 790 5655

Email: security@liscr.com

Web: www.liscr.com

This completed check list will be submitted to the Administration when providing notice of entering the area as required in Marine Security Advisory 04/2018 to be released soon.

YES NO Preparation and Planning Reference

YES NO Self‐Protection Measures Reference

A vessel not capable of maintaining at least 19 knots with low/medium free‐board and with limited self‐ To date, the most effective counter‐measures against Somalia based pirates have proven to be speed and

Vessels being attacked outside the Gulf of Aden cannot be expected to be within immediate reach by the Coalition

For any vessel scheduled to navigate within the High Risk Area, the Administration strongly encourages Owners Pirate tactics include scouting, surveillance, and mock‐attacks to measure a vessel’s level of self‐protection.

For training we recommend the use of LISCRBMP‐CBT:

Should you or a member of your crew witness or be subject to a pirate attack:

1. If possible, take pictures of the pirate ship and crew
2. Use the following form to report incidents you or your crew have witnessed in the affected area

BMP5 Annex E

Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa reporting forms

MSCHOA vessel registration and incident reporting Registration with MSCHOA ensures a ship is monitored by • There are two principal methods to register your ship’s movement with MSCHOA.

‐ Online at www.mschoa.org (note you will need to register with MSCHOA for access, this can be done following

‐ Offline. A downloadable form is available from www.mschoa.org or it can be requested from

This form was updated in March 2018 to make offline registration simpler for ships with sporadic internet Items marked with an * are mandatory.

Follow Up report to MSCHOA and UKMTO, and this Administration

Following any attack or suspicious activity, it is vital that a detailed report of the event is provided to UKMTO and MSCHOA and the Liberian Administration. It is also helpful to provide a copy of the report to the IMB. Incident report; vessel particulars/details. It is recognized that during an incident time may be short and crew will be under a number of pressures and stresses. Those lines marked with an * are those that, in extremis, are the key requirements that must be reported. Without this data responses cannot be planned or mounted and assessments will be incomplete and may be inaccurate.