Coast Guard Issues Maritime Advisory On Ship Security Alert System

The US Coast Guard last week issued a marine safety alert about Ship Security Alert Systems, notifying owners and operators of vessels about the critical nature and importance of these systems. The Coast Guard is aware of a recent Breach of Security on board a vessel overseas. In that case, the Ship Security Alert System did not function properly. The vessel operators found that the primary activation button on the system had failed to transmit a Breach of Security message. Further, when the second activation button was depressed, not all the important and critical information was transmitted as it should have been. Fortunately, in this incident, there were no injuries or deaths resulting from this security failure. However, something like this could have easily ended in fatalities or injuries to the crewmembers. The Ship Security Alert System in this case had been serviced just two days before the incident. However, records indicate that the technician who performed the testing did not have the right equipment to do so. A mere internal operational self test was conducted. A complete external survey, on the other hand would have identified the problems with the system, and these could then have been corrected. The Coast Guard is recommending that a Ship Security Alert System survey always be performed by a fully qualified technician. Among other things, the survey must check if the system complies with IMO standards, that a minimum of two activation points are provided and that the transmission of the security alert can be done without an adjustment of the radio system. Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen, galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters. Image Courtesy: Flickr – jdnx

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