The Panama Maritime Authority has issued a circular to inform about updates on the instructions and procedures of the Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) according to SOLAS 74, as amended, highlighting that all the Panamanian flagged vessels shall be provided with a SSAS capable of transmit a security alert to a designated, competent authority when activated in an emergency situation.
As the ship security alert system is a requirement of SOLAS 74’, as amended Chapter XI-2, it is not considered to be radio equipment; thus not covered by the Safety Radio Survey and the Safety Radio certificate is not affected. Any deficiency in relation to the ship security alert system; however, is a failure of compliance with the ISPS Code and the ISM Code, as mentioned before.
The Panama Flag advises ship-owners or operators to notify the RSO prior to installing SSAS equipment. In all cases, the RO responsible for the issue of the Safety Radio Certification shall be responsible for the initial installation, inspection and testing of the SSAS by an approved radio technician.
The Company and the Company Security officer (CSO) are requested to continuously verify that the SSAS equipment on board of the Panamanian Flagged vessels have been correctly set to send the security alert or test messages to the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA).
Further details may be found by reading the circular here
