Maritime Anti-Terror Law Threatens Trade Chaos
Global trade could face chaos as nations struggle to comply with a worldwide maritime anti-terror law that comes into force in July, industry sources and security experts said on Monday. The tough new international security requirements for ships and ports, adopted by the United Nations in record time in December 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, require all ships to be security-certified by the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) before they will be free to carry on trading. “We are in a state of panic — there is a very short space of time to comply. Not everyone is prepared and there is a complete lack of direction from governments on how it should be done,” said Andy Easdown maritime training manager with Lloyd’s Register in London, one of the world’s largest merchant ship classification societies. Full Story