July 2, 2004
By Caroline Drees and Stefano Ambrogi
WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - The United States denied entry to six foreign-flagged ships on Thursday as tough new global laws to protect shipping from terrorist attacks took effect with little overall disruption to global trade.
Washington, fearing an attack or infiltration by al Qaeda from the sea, has vowed to police the new United Nations codes strictly by turning away ships that are not security-certified or delaying ones that have called at "contaminated ports."
Adm. Thomas Collins, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, told Reuters the agency had denied entry to six out of 265 ships arriving in the United States on Thursday for failing to have valid new security certificates.
He did not say what flags the six ships carried. He said none of them were oil tankers, but rather tended to be "freight-type vessels." Collins gave no further details on the ships, but said the tightened security regime had not had a significant impact on the flow of trade.
A U.S. Coast Guard official said earlier the agency had ordered Bolivian-flagged cargo ship Dahomey Express to leave U.S. waters because it lacked the new security certificates. There was no immediate information on the other five vessels.
The codes, signed by 147 governments, require ports, stevedoring companies and owners of ships larger than 500 tons to draw up plans for responding to a terror threat, implement tighter security around facilities and train staff.
The global shipping community is watching U.S. enforcement efforts to check the effectiveness of the codes.
On the eve of the July 1 deadline to implement the new anti-terrorism measures, only about half of the world's ports and 53 percent of global shipping had complied with the International Ship and Port Facility Security code, according to the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization, its chief architect.
Shipping sources said despite the relatively smooth first day from Asia and Europe to the Americas, it was too early to say the transition to the new regime had been a success, adding it would take days and weeks to get a full picture of compliance.
Rupert Herbert-Burns, a senior consultant with the Maritime Intelligence Group which advises ports on security threats, said the code was a good step, but no panacea to eliminate security threats.
"There are still thousands of port facilities around the world, particularly in the less developed world, which won't be in compliance for some time. That is obviously of concern," he said. "It's not going to be watertight until you've got much, much more endemic coverage."
Nigeria, for example, said on Thursday that just three of its 53 port terminals were ready. But it showed little immediate concern over flunking the deadline and said the compliance problems would not affect its precious oil exports.
SMOOTH SAILING IN ASIA, EUROPE
In Asia, where most major shipping lines and key container ports had met the U.N.'s July 1 deadline, there were no initial reports of delays. At the world's largest transshipment hub in Singapore, all 41 ships that visited the port by 0200 GMT on Thursday were compliant.
Traffic at Taiwan's two main international ports of Kaohsiung -- the world's sixth-largest container terminal -- and Keelung moved swiftly throughout the day, with no vessels requiring searches, harbor officials said.
Australia, where all ships and ports involved in international trade met the deadline, was keeping a wary eye on suspect vessels but did not delay any.
In Europe, where most mega-ports were in full compliance, there were also no reports of early snags.
A spokesman in Rotterdam, Europe's biggest port, said he did not foresee any disruption to trade or major incidents involving non-compliant ships.
Germany's Transport Ministry said uncertified vessels were still being allowed to dock, although ships from a high-risk region that had made no attempt to comply might be stopped.
The Paris MOU, which oversees maritime safety and security in 13 EU countries, as well as Russia and Canada, reported it was business as usual.
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