47 In accordance with the ship security plan,
all doors allowing access to the bridge, engine-room, steering gear
compartments, officers’ cabins and crew accommodation should
be secured and controlled at all times and should be regularly inspected.
The intention should be to establish secure areas which attackers
will find difficult to penetrate. Consideration should be given to
the installation of special access control systems to the ship’s
secure areas. Ports, scuttles and windows which could provide access
to such secure areas should be securely closed and should have laminated
glass, if possible. Deadlights should be shut and clipped tightly.
The internal doors within secure areas which give immediate access
to key areas such as the bridge, radio room, engineroom and master’s
cabin should be strengthened and have special access control systems
and automatic alarms.
48 Securing doors providing access to, and egress
from, secure or key areas may give rise to concern over safety in
the event of an accident. In any situation where there is a conflict
between safety and security, the safety requirements should be paramount.
Nevertheless, attempts should be made to incorporate appropriate safety
provisions while allowing accesses and exits to be secured or controlled.
49 Owners may wish to consider providing closed-circuit
television (CCTV) coverage and recording of the main access points
to the ship’s secure areas, the corridors approaching the entrances
to key areas and the bridge. The allocation of additional personnel
to guarding and patrolling of restricted areas can be a useful preventive
measure.
50 To prevent seizure of individual crew members
by attackers – seizure and threatening a crew member is one
of the more common means of attackers gaining control over a ship
– all crew members not engaged on essential outside duties should
remain within a secure area during the hours of darkness. Those whose
duties necessarily involve working outside such areas at night should
remain in regular communication with the bridge, it may be the first
indication of an attack if the watchkeeper does not report in, if
manning permits work in pairs, make irregular rounds on the deck and
should have practised using alternative routes to return to a secure
area in the event of an attack. Crew members who fear they may not
be able to return to a secure area during an attack should select
places in advance in which they can take temporary refuge.
51 There should be designated muster areas within
the ship’s secure areas where the crew can muster during an
attack and communicate their location and numbers to the bridge.