St. Kitts & Nevis – Verification of Ship Security Alerts

Notice to: Ship Owners / Managers/ Operators / Surveyors / Auditors :

C24047 | 05 September 2024

The St. Kitts and Nevis International Ship Registry has issued Maritime Circular – MC 15 09 (Rev.1) which provides guidance on their verification procedure for Ship-to-Shore Security Alerts (SSA).

Key points are : 

The Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) should be programmed to transmit:

• Name of ship;
• IMO Ship Identification Number;
• Call Sign of the ship;
• Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI);
• Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position of the ship in latitude and longitude; and
• Date and time (UTC) of the alert according to the GNSS position.

The ship-to-shore security alert (SSA) must be directed to:

• the Competent Authority, (which is the Company Security Officer (CSO) responsible for the ship, or an authorised third party contracted by the Company);
• the Department of Maritime Affairs maritimeaffairsskn@gov.kn; and
• the Flag Head Office mail@skanregistry.com.

On receiving the SSA, the Competent Authority is to verify whether or not it is genuine and, as soon as possible, e-mail the Department of Maritime Affairs and the International Ship Registry, advising whether the SSA is:

• genuine;
• a false alarm; or
• a test message.

If the SSA is genuine the Competent Authority is to e-mail to the Department of Maritime Affairs:

• a copy of the crew list;
• the cargo type(s) and quantity(s) on board; and
• any other relevant information.

After receiving a message confirming that the SSA is genuine, the Department of Maritime Affairs will:

• access the IMO Database to establish contact details of the nearby coastal states;
• advise the coastal states that a security alert has been received from the ship and the ship’s position;
• liaise with the Competent Authority, St. Kitts and Nevis Coast Guard, and the coastal states for further action.

The Administration recommends that:

• should Ship Owners and Ship Managers have difficulty in monitoring SSAs, they should use a 24/7/365 SSA monitoring service in addition to their own CSO service. The Circular provides a link to a list of authorised third parties on their website.
• the records of real SSAs, including confirmations from the Administration, should be available for examination during shore-based verifications of the Safety Management System of the Company by the RO issuing the Document of Compliance.

Act now

Ship Owners, Managers, Operators, Surveyors, and Auditors should familiarise themselves with the contents of the Circular, and the IMO requirements governing SSAS, namely SOLAS Chapter XI-2/Reg. 6, IMO Resolution MSC.147(77), IMO Circulars MSC/Circ.1072, MSC.1/Circ.1190 and MSC/Circ.1155.