From 1st April 2018, all companies operators and ROs acting o behalf of the Panama Maritime Administration must follow certain procedures to conduct verification audit process. This aims to ensure the correct implementation and certification of the ISPS Code on board Panamanian flagged ships, operating in international waters.
From 15th December 2018, the ISPS Code requests to postpone the audit verification must be done through the online platform E-Segumar. After that they will be evaluated by the Maritime Ships Security Department in Panama.
Responsibility of the company operator
- The company operator must designate a company security officer and ensure which the company security officer has already the declaration of the CSO endorsed by the Panama Maritime Authority;
- Companies operators must maintain a proper communication with the Recognized Security Organization (RSO) to conduct all the ISPS verification;
- If the company operator decided to change the RSO before the completion of the initial verification, he/she must restart the ISPS process with the interim verification;
- The company operator must apply for the Full Term ISSC.
Responsibility of the Company Security Officer (CSO)
- The CSO must apply for the declaration of CSO duly endorsed by the Panama Maritime Authority;
- The CSO must coordinate the initial, intermediate and renewal verifications of the ship with the RSOs.
Responsibility of the RSO
- RSOs must verify that the CSO has the Declaration of Company Security Officer endorsed by the Panama Maritime Authority;
- RSOs must verify that the ship has a Continuous Synopsis Record updated, before the completion of the ISPS verification;
- The RSO who performed the interim verification must verify that the SSAS system is working properly and must perform a real TEST;
- The Ship Security Plan must be approved before the initial verification.
Restrictions of the RSO
RSOs should not:
- Set the applicable security level;
- Issue a consecutive interim ISSC;
- Issue a short-term certificate after carrying out the initial verification;
- Issue the Full Term ISSC;
- Issue the Interim ISSC if any ISPS deficiency was found during the ISPS verification.
ISPS Verification Audit
The ISPS verification audit should at least include the following information:
- Place and date of the verification;
- Identification of the audit team;
- Type of verification;
- Audit plan;
- Company Security Officer name;
- Identification of SSO;
- Number and date of issuance of the CSR;
- SSAS Test Date;
- Any observations and possible action;
- Recommendations;
- Conclusion.
Finally, an ISSC will not be issued if major non-conformity was found on board during the ISPS verification and is able to compromise the ship’s ability to operate at security levels 1 to 3.
You may check more details in the PDF herebelow
