MARINE REPORTING AND
TERRITORIAL MARITIME CONTROLS

J MARK ROWBOTHAM

Releasing 20th April 2011

ISBN: 978-0-9563971-2-6
Pages: 229, Paperback
Publisher: Seamanshiptutor
RRP £29.99 (Free worldwide postage)

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 – THE LEGAL PERSPECTIVE
CHAPTER 2 – DEFINITION OF AREAS COVERED BY THE UNCLOS
CHAPTER 3 – THE PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE
CHAPTER 4 – REPORTING REGIMES
CHAPTER 5 – CONVENTIONS, CODES AND CONTROLS
CHAPTER 6 – ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
CHAPTER 7 – MARINE ACCIDENTS AND THEIR AFTERMATH
CHAPTER 8 – PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS
CHAPTER 9 – CASE STUDIES
REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION – ATTENTION ALL SHIPPING…

The words “Attention all Shipping” may remind us of those dark winter nights, when we have the radio tuned to Radio 4, and the gentle tones of Ronald Binge’s Melody “Sailing By” soothe our innermost thoughts, prior to our sympathies being roused for those unfortunate mariners caught in some squall or Force 8 gale in areas as evocative as Viking, Forties, North Utsire, Rockall, Bailey or Biscay.
But behind the seemingly endless stream of lists of weather conditions around the British Coastline delivered from the Meteorological Office, there lurks another major issue – that of the reporting of shipping to the various national authorities whose coastlines are located within the areas illustrated above. The issue of Marine Reporting covers a variety of circumstances, from vessels sailing through the Strait of Dover, through the reporting of hazardous or dangerous cargoes to the Port of Destination, to the reporting of marine incidents or accidents. Several Reporting regimes presently exist, but are by no means standardised, harmonised or integrated. Furthermore, it would appear that no one single Marine Reporting regime covers the ability of a national authority to control or monitor not only the shipping movements close to its coasts, other than the regime operating in the Channel between Dover and Cap Gris Nez, but also the intentions of the ships concerned and the nature of their cargoes, crews or passengers. Indeed, it would also appear that the powers held by certain national authorities to control maritime movements both within and outwith the scope of national maritime territorial controls are extremely limited, despite the basic need for a nation to exercise complete control and sovereignty over its defined territory.
A hornet’s nest was stirred on the ship and conference venue HQS Wellington, permanently moored alongside the Victoria Embankment on the River Thames in London, in June 2005, when I addressed a gathering of a variety of delegates at a CILT seminar on the subject of Marine Reporting. As a result of my address, many questions were raised as to the effectiveness of national maritime controls around EU waters, and what was being done to address such issues. The UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) stated that progress was being made towards a common EU policy on such issues, but that this would take some time to resolve. The overall conclusion of the seminar was that there was no fully co-ordinated policy to take into account all the diverse marine reporting regimes which existed at the time, i.e. no appearance of “joined-up thinking” with reference to the issues at stake. This was borne out by certain organisations I consulted for the purpose of my research, and led me to believe that much work was required, not only to create an integrated international regime for marine reporting, but also to ensure that such a regime also fulfilled the relevant articles of the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
This text seeks to define and explain certain elements of the UNCLOS pertaining to national maritime territory and national maritime controls, as well as to address the issues relating to present-day marine reporting mechanisms and systems, and to recommend proposals for the review, overhaul and restructuring of such marine reporting mechanisms and regimes to account for all the above anomalies, using case studies as examples of present-day reporting mechanisms. It also seeks to review marine reporting mechanisms in the light of the threats posed by terrorism and the maritime risks associated therewith, as well as the need for greater degrees of control over shipping movements and the risks posed by ever-increasing tonnage of vessels on the high seas with relation to how they may affect both other ships in the vicinity, the ports they visit, and the risks they may pose to the national interest and well-being of any coastal State. Such controls must inevitably also cover the identification of such vessels, their intentions while sailing, and their cargoes, as increasing tonnage of vessels also means increasing volumes of cargo carried, and how such carriage encroaches upon the national interest and the issue of security, including customs and fiscal controls as defined within the scope of the UNCLOS as well as for the purposes of national interests.

About the Author

Mark Rowbotham is a Lecturer in the Maritime Studies Department of Liverpool John Moores University. He is also an independent Consultant, Trainer and writer in Marine and Customs issues, and has spent a considerable length of time working in both the Government, Commercial and Academic sectors. He deals primarily with Maritime Logistics, Offshore Oil & Gas Logistics, Compliance, Control and Procedural issues.

He was originally an Officer in HM Customs & Excise, dealing with Import and Export Controls over Maritime Freight traffic, predominantly seafreight container movements, into and out of UK Ports during the 1980s, and became an independent consultant and trainer in the late 1990s. He has worked with a wide variety of clients in the UK, EU and overseas, including the Middle East and West Africa.

He is graduated in Languages (Portuguese) and Export Management, and gained a Masters’ Degree in International Relations and Political Economy in 1995. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK), and is co-Chair of their Ports, Freight and Maritime Forum. He is a member of the Royal Institute of Navigation, and is also fluent in several languages, including Portuguese, French and German.

He has written extensively on the subjects of Customs, International Supply Chain and Marine Compliance issues for a wide variety of International Trade, Logistics and Shipping publications and journals, and is the author of a book published by the Informa Group in 2008 entitled “Introduction to Marine Cargo Management”. He also works with Lloyd’s Maritime Academy, part of the Informa Group, on several of their courses, and has delivered a variety of seminars on maritime topics for their programmes in London. He also advises several Chambers of Commerce in the North of England on Customs, Logistics and International Trade issues, as well as frequently delivering advice, Training Courses and Seminars on these subjects. He also delivers seminars and workshops for various other UK Universities on marine issues.