AS smaller craft, below the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code threshold, pose increasing threats to security as bomb carriers, the European Commission has appointed Sentinel Maritime to assess the impact of extending security measures to down to very small boats.

The Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport-commissioned study will focus on the impact, including financial consequences, of extending security measures to ships which currently do not fall within the scope of Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter XI/2 and the ISPS Code.

The study named "Project Secure Seas" is, in part, a response to the growing concern that such ships may present as serious, or more serious, a threat than ships currently within the scope of the ISPS Code.

Apart from the terrorist attacks carried out by small craft on warship USS Cole and the tanker Limburg, smaller non-ISPS ships are frequently used in human trafficking as well as smuggling drugs and contraband.

First, the company will determine the state of play of EU member states, then collate information on degree of compliance with Safety of Life (SOLAS) registry regulations. The study will also examine the possibility of introducing a computerised ship registry, which might include recreational/pleasure craft as well as commercial vessels.

Sentinel will also study the potential application within the EU of the guidelines on the security aspects of the operation of non-ISPS vessels adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in December 2008.