DfT has raised the ISPS threat for British shipping to level 3
Nautilus has urged members to heed any recent high level security alerts issued for merchant ships operating off the coast of Yemen, amid continuing fears of an imminent attack from an al-Qaeda offshoot in the region.
The Department for Transport (DfT) is reported by the Times to have raised the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) threat for British shipping to level 3, the highest point, indicating a ‘probable or imminent’ security threat.
Nautilus senior national secretary Alan Graveson said: ‘UK and Red Ensign shipping is expected to adhere to this guidance and follow Best Management Practice. This they have been doing for some time.’
The reported ‘significant’ UK naval presence close to Yemen – the Type 23 frigates HMS Westminster and HMS Somerset – is also welcome, said Mr Graveson.
The UK Chamber of Shipping would not comment on specific UK threat levels issued at any particular time because they are ‘classified’.
But in a briefing to maritime journalists, the Chamber’s head of defence and security, Gavin Simmonds, said: ‘It is also important not to confuse the ISPS Code regime, which is counter-terrorist based, with counter-piracy operations or the piracy threat.
‘UK operators will be able to distinguish between these two different threats and will have plans and procedures in place and be able to adopt the appropriate counter-measures,’ he added. ‘Maritime threats in Yemeni ports and off Yemen are complex, long running and well known to the industry.’
Source: The Nautilus International
