• SOLAS, chapter XI-2 and Regulation (EC) no. 725/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council

This circular contains guidance on the Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) and on changes to the Ship Security Plan (SSP) in accordance with the abovementioned regulations.

This circular repeals the DMA guidance no. 009 on ship security alert systems of 13 December 2007. 

Setting up of security alerts in Danish ships

The Danish Maritime Authority has, in cooperation with the Royal Navy Command, determined the course of action for security alerts and hereby provides the guidelines.

All security alerts from Danish ships shall be:

• submitted to Danish Maritime Assistance Service (MAS) without any delay,
• addressed to MAS’ land-mobile Inmarsat C system and their email address, and
• submitted to the Company Security Officer (CSO).

The coding of the address field shall have the following order of priority:

1. 492380442 (Land Inmarsat-C)
2. Contact of the Company Security Officer
3. E-mail to MAS (mas@sok.dk)

Ship identification

The ship shall be identified clearly and unambiguously in the security alert. The message shall contain at least the following information:

• IMO no.
• MMSI no.
• Ship’s name
• Call sign
• Date/time zone (updated automatically and continuously)
• Position, course, and speed, if relevant (updated automatically and continuously)

Testing of security alerts on Danish ships

To ensure the functionality of the system, a live alert shall be submitted to MAS after the installation is com- pleted – or if any major changes are made to the system’s set-up. Furthermore, a live alert shall be submitted in connection with the periodic survey of the radio installation or during an ISPS audit.

Carrying out the live alert test

The test should be carried out by the master, an officer, or a surveyor from a recognised security organisation. Before the test, the following steps must be carried out:

1. Inform MAS by e-mail (mas@sok.dk) from the ship no earlier than 48 hours in advance.
2. Contact MAS by phone (+45 72 85 03 70) immediately prior to testing, in order to get MAS’ approval to carry out the test.

After activating the SSAS, MAS will contact the ship to confirm reception of the alert.

During the periodic survey, it should also be ensured that the ship has encoded ENID number 28941 in the primary Inmarsat-C terminal. Please see Guidance no. 9253 of 28 June 2011 on important messages (OXXO) via Inmarsat-Cas amended.

In case of unintentional activation of the SSAS, MAS must be contacted immediately. (tel. +45 72 85 03 70)

In addition to the mentioned live alert test, the SSAS should be tested regularly, cf. the ISPS Code, item 9.4.18.

Please observe that internal test alerts shall not be sent to MAS.

Documentation for the testing of the SSAS

Both the annual live alert test and the internal test shall be documented on board in the ISPS security records.

Company Security Officer list

All Danish shipping companies shall inform MAS (mas@sok.dk) about the name and contact information of all appointed CSOs. It is important that MAS is in possession of the accurate contact information at all times. The shipping company is responsible for updating MAS with the appropriate contact information.

Reception of Ship Security Alarm through service providers

Certain companies offer monitoring services for security alerts. These services include the receipt of security alerts from ships at a central office manned day and night and onwards submission to the relevant authority. As an optional extra service, some shipping companies use these service providers in order to meet foreign authorities’ requirements on short response periods, for example. The Danish Maritime Authority does not approve any such service providers, as live alerts sent to MAS through intermediate links are not accepted.

Security related information from Danish Authorities

The recognized security organizations are obliged to verify that Danish ships are in compliance with Guid- ance no. 9253 of 28 June 2011 on important messages (OXXO) via Inmarsat-C as amended.

MAS will communicate security related information to Danish ships through OXXO messages as well as the CSO list.

Security Level in Denmark

The Danish Ministry of Defence is the responsible authority for determining the security level of the ISPS Code in Danish waters and on board Danish ships. MAS will communicate any change in the security levels on board Danish Ships and in Danish waters.

Danish requirements

The Danish Maritime Authority requires all changes to the Ship Security Plan (SSP) to be forwarded for re- approval, except for the following:

• Minor editorial changes to the SSP, including changes to the document control system.
• Changes to telephone numbers.
• Changes to names and responsible persons.
• Changes to physical addresses.
• Changes to e-mail addresses and web-sites.
• Changes to the format of checklists (records).
• Changes to and updates of existing ISM documents already approved in the annex as a part of the ISPS manual1

Generically preapproved SSASs must be specified on ship level.

The company may have a number of SSASs preapproved for use in its fleet in a generic version of the SSP.

When approving an individual SSP, multiple SSASs are acceptable, but only the sections of the SSP relevant to the alert system currently installed on board must be available on board. There must be no doubt about what type, make and configuration of SSAS is used on board.

ISPS security records must be kept on board for a minimum of 3 years in accordance with MARSEC doc. 7510 rev 1.

Issuance of an interim ISSC must be done in accordance with the ISPS Code Part A 19.4.