The IMO has been active in promulgating resolutions and circulars providing direction and guidance to owners, operators, and masters on how to enhance security.
Guidance for the maintenance of the Continuous Synopis Record (CSR) was provided in Res. A.959(23) of 1 March 2003.
Performance standards for the Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) were provided in Res.MSC.136(76) of 11 December 2002. This guidance was revised in Res.MSC.147(77) of 29 May 2003.
Rebuilding the presumption of preemption
In the May 2013 edition of Maritime Reporter and Engineering News, you can find my article entitled "Rebuilding the presumption of preemption". In the article, I discuss how federal control of maritime commerce prevailed over state control in the early days of the Republic. Over the years, that federal preemption has been eroded. It is time to rebuild the presumption in favor of federal preemption with respect to all matters related to maritime commerce. The industry should not be unregulated or even under-regulated, but it deserves to be uniformly regulated.
