The letter of the law

With the New Year just upon us, Matt Illingworth, associate at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, reviews some key marine legal developments of 2004

JANUARY – MARCH

Ship security deadlines

The UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) set a deadline of the end of January for shipping companies to lodge their ship security plans under the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code. This was intended to give the MCA time to approve each plan, carry out a verification audit and issue an International Ship Security Certificate, all before the ISPS Code came into effect on 1 July 2004. The Department for Transport warned that it expected 100% compliance by 1 July and the International Group of P&I Clubs asked its members to make it a condition of cover that ships must have the correct ISPS certificates from that date. This set the tone for a busy year for the shipping industry seeking to achieve compliance.