In the wake of the tragic events of 11 September 2001 in the United States of America, the then IMO Secretary-General Mr. William A. O'Neil consulted on the need to review the measures already adopted by IMO to combat acts of violence and crime at sea. The 22nd Assembly of IMO, which met at the Organization's London headquarters from 19-30 November 2001, agreed to hold a Conference on Maritime Security in December 2002, to adopt new regulations to enhance ship and port security and avert shipping from becoming a target of international terrorism.

An Intersessional Working Group on Maritime Security, which met from 11 to 15 February, produced a series of recommendations which were further elaborated by the May 2002 meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 75) as well as other IMO bodies. A second ISWG was held in September 2002, and the MSC met again for its 76th session in December 2002, concurrently with the Diplomatic conference on Maritime Security which adopted the new measures to enhance maritime security.

The Conference adopted a number of amendments to the 1974 Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), the most far-reaching of which enshrines the new International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code). The Code contains detailed security-related requirements for Governments, port authorities and shipping companies in a mandatory section (Part A), together with a series of guidelines about how to meet these requirements in a second, non-mandatory section (Part B). The Conference also adopted a series of resolutions designed to add weight to the amendments, encourage the application of the measures to ships and port facilities not covered by the Code and pave the way for future work on the subject.   See More...