Ghana Maritime Security Act, 2004 (Act 675)

This section says what ships, port facilities, and offshore drilling units the Act applies to, gives the Minister power to extend coverage to some port facilities by Gazette notice, and sets out exemptions.

The Ghana Maritime Authority must perform the additional functions set out in this Part.

The Authority must carry out maritime security functions, including implementing the Convention and Code, approving and reviewing security assessments and plans, applying security levels, issuing records, and providing training.

The Authority may delegate some security-related functions in writing to a recognised security organisation, but only with Ministerial approval and after consultation; some functions cannot be delegated.

The Authority may appoint recognised security organisations and must publish the appointment in the Gazette.

A recognised security organisation must approve ship security plans, verify and certify ship compliance, and carry out port facility security assessments when the Authority requires it.

The Authority must set security levels 1, 2 and 3 for Ghanaian ships and port facilities, may vary them to reduce security risk, and must review and update them when necessary.

When the Authority sets or updates security levels, it must provide related security information to specified ships and port facilities, and it must issue appropriate instructions when security level 3 is set.

The Minister may decide when a Declaration of Security is required and must publish a notice in the Gazette for a specified port or place.

A Gazette notice for a Declaration of Security must include a port map, shared security requirements, responsibilities, and the minimum period it remains in force.

Certain ship and port security officials may submit a written request for a Declaration of Security, and the request must be acknowledged in writing by the relevant port facility or ship master.

The Director-General must supervise security arrangements under an alternative security agreement, review each agreement periodically, and consider specified factors during review. A ship’s master must not do ship-to-ship activity with a ship outside the same agreement unless it is for search and rescue.

The Minister may allow certain ships or port facilities in Ghana to use equivalent security measures, and the Director-General must report those arrangements to the International Maritime Organisation as soon as practicable.

The Director-General must test approved port facility and ship security plans, and may require amendments if a plan does not meet the Authority’s standards.

The company of a Ghanaian ship must develop, implement, maintain, and update a ship security plan. An approved recognised security organisation may prepare the plan, and the Authority may engage such an organisation to review and approve it in specified cases.

The master and company of a Ghanaian ship must keep a written approval of the ship security plan on board and protect it from unauthorised access or disclosure.

Applications to approve a ship security plan or amended ship security plan must be made in writing to the Director-General, in the form set by the Authority.

A ship security plan must cover required security levels, Declaration of Security, and detailed security procedures and contacts.

A ship security plan cannot take effect without the Director-General’s written approval.

A person aggrieved by the Director-General’s decision may appeal in writing to the Minister first, and then to the High Court if the matter is not decided in time or the person is dissatisfied with the Minister’s decision.

An amended ship security plan cannot be implemented without written approval from the Director-General, and the approval must be documented, kept on board, and protected from unauthorised disclosure.

A ship’s master must not send a Ghanaian ship on an international voyage unless a ship security plan is in force and the ship is operated accordingly.

The company and master of a Ghanaian ship must follow the ship security levels and related security measures, and the master must report and acknowledge instructions in specified situations.

A company of a Ghanaian ship must have the ship’s security assessment carried out by a suitably skilled person, may use a recognised security organisation, and must keep, review, update, and obtain written approval for each assessment from the Director-General.

Ghanaian ships must carry specified security systems, and the company or master must ensure the ship has the required security alert system before the master takes responsibility.

The Director-General must immediately notify nearby States when a ship security alert is received, and must notify the ship’s administration if the alert comes from a non-Ghanaian ship.

The company of a Ghanaian ship must make sure the ship has a valid International Ship Security Certificate before it is used or operated for any international voyage.

A company may apply in writing to the Director-General for an International Ship Security Certificate, using the form the Authority determines.

Ghanaian ships covered by this Part must undergo required security verifications, and changes to the ship’s security system or plan cannot be made after verification unless the Authority authorises them.

The Director-General may issue an International Ship Security Certificate for up to 5 years if the ship has a valid application, an in-force ship security plan, and completed verification.

An International Ship Security Certificate is valid from the date it is issued until the Director-General cancels it or 5 years pass, whichever happens first.

An International Ship Security Certificate stops being valid in listed situations, and renewal verification controls when a new certificate becomes valid and how long it can last.

The Authority may extend or endorse an International Ship Security Certificate in specified situations, and a ship covered by such an extension must not leave the verification port without the new certificate.

The Director-General must notify the company in writing when an International Ship Security Certificate is cancelled, if the ship has no ship security plan in force or is no longer subject to the required verification.

The Director-General may issue an interim ship security certificate in limited cases, but must not do so if the company appears to be avoiding full compliance beyond six months.

The ship’s master and company must keep the International Ship Security Certificate on board. The master must produce it to the Authority on request and cooperate; the Director-General may verify its presence in port.

Before entering a Ghanaian port, a ship’s master must give the Director-General specified security and voyage details and must keep a 10-call record of that information.

The Director-General must accept valid maritime security documents for ships and ship companies, but may refuse or suspend acceptance in specified non-compliance, alteration, fraud, or mistaken-holder cases.

The Director-General may impose control measures on a ship in port when required security documents are not produced without reasonable excuse, or when the ship is believed not to comply with the Act.

The Director-General may inspect a ship security plan for control measures if specified compliance and consent conditions are met.

The Director-General must give written notice and communicate certain control-measure or port-denial information, and a person who ignores a control measure without reasonable excuse commits an offence.

If a ship is believed not to comply with the Act, the Director-General must contact the master or ship’s administration and may order rectification, inspection, movement to a specified location, or deny entry in urgent safety cases.

The company of a Ghanaian ship must appoint a company security officer, and the company must ensure that each officer gets appropriate training.

A Ghanaian ship’s company must appoint a ship security officer for each ship and make sure the officer is properly trained.

Shipboard personnel must follow the duties and responsibilities set out in the ship security plan.

This section restricts interference with a master’s safety-and-security decisions and sets duties for the ship’s company, the master, and official-duty persons.

If a ship is detained under section 39(1)(c), the ship’s company must pay detention-related costs to the Authority, and the Authority must pay compensation for loss caused by undue detention or delay.

A port facility operator must follow the Authority’s security level, use security measures that reduce disruption, and appoint port facility security officers.

The Authority must carry out security assessments for each port facility, and the Director-General may review and approve assessments in some cases.

After a port facility security assessment is completed, the assessor must prepare a report for the Authority. The report must include how the assessment was conducted, each vulnerability found, and possible countermeasures. The report must also be kept confidential.

The Authority may publish notice in the Gazette and prescribe extra requirements for a port facility security assessment.

Port facility operators must prepare, maintain, review, and protect a security plan. Certain plans may cover more than one port facility if conditions are met and the Authority agrees. No plan or amendment may be implemented without the Minister’s written approval.

A valid port facility security plan must include specified security measures, procedures, contacts, and review steps.

A port facility operator or recognised security organisation may submit a port facility security plan or approved-plan amendment to the Minister for approval.

The Minister may only approve a port facility security plan or amendment if satisfied it matches the Code, related sections, and the security assessment. The Minister must notify the operator or recognised security organisation within 15 days. Approved written approval must usually be kept at the port facility, unless it is for a temporary change and the original measures are being effectively used.

A port facility operator or recognised security organisation may ask the Minister to review a refusal to approve a port facility security plan, and the Minister must review and report back within 15 working days.

A port facility operator must appoint a port facility security officer for each port facility, unless subsection (2) applies; the operator may instead appoint one officer for multiple facilities.

The Authority may designate port security zones by Gazette notice, and may later revoke or amend them.

When designating a port security zone, the Authority must consider the zone’s purpose, the port’s physical and operational features, and the port facility operator’s opinion.

Rules for port security zones limit entry, require identification and related information on request, and allow removal, detention, force, and penalties for non-compliance.

A person must not take or try to take weapons, ammunition, or certain harmful substances onto a ship or into a port security zone unless there is a reasonable excuse or written permission; if permission is obtained, it must be shown to an authorised person on request.

An authorised person may screen people and items connected to a ship or port security zone, and may search them if the screening device fails, gives unclear results, or suggests an offence.

An authorised person may seize an item if they believe it cannot lawfully be taken on board a ship or into a port security zone, and must then inventory it and notify the owner or source person.

The Authority may recover seizure costs, must compensate owners for certain loss, and a complainant must indemnify the Authority if false information was provided knowingly.

If a person refuses screening or search, an authorised person may order them to leave the ship or port security zone, use reasonable force if needed, and detain them if they still refuse; passengers or crew who refuse may also be denied boarding.

Police officers may search, detain, or take possession of certain articles without a warrant if the stated suspicion and refusal conditions are met, and they must identify themselves, explain the search, and report it within 3 days.

Maritime security officers may enter port security zones, related places, and ships in the course of duty, but non-forcibly unless accompanied by police, with extra limits when police are in command.

The Authority may create an exclusion zone around a ship, and the Director-General must notify specified port and ship officials once it does so.

People, craft, and vessels may not enter or leave an exclusion zone unless the Director-General authorises it.

The Minister is responsible for this Act and may issue general directives to the Authority on maritime security policy.

The Authority may appoint a person as a maritime security officer, and that officer must carry out the functions the Authority تعیین.

The Minister may make Regulations, by legislative instrument and in consultation with the Authority’s board, to implement the Act.

This section makes changes to section 289 of the Ghana Shipping Act, 2003 by replacing its headnote and adding wording about ship security documents.

This section defines key terms used in the Act.