8 Firearms
Clasification Society 2024 - Version 9.40
Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Circulars - Maritime Safety Committee - MSC/Circular.1156 – Guidance on the Access of Public Authorities, Emergency Response Services and Pilots on Board Ships to which SOLAS Chapter XI-2 and the ISPS Code Apply – (23 May 2005) - Annex - Guidance on the Access of Public Authorities, Emergency Response Services and Pilots on Board Ships to which SOLAS Chapter XI-2 and the ISPS Code Apply - 8 Firearms

8 Firearms

  8.1 The national legislation of each State provides which public authorities and under what circumstances are to carry firearms during the performance of their duties. The master and the SSO should expect that various public authorities will be armed when on board.

  • 8.1.1 These officials should not be asked to surrender their firearms when boarding a ship.

  8.2 Paragraph B/16.7 of the ISPS Code recommends that the use of firearms on or near ships and in port facilities may pose particular and significant safety risks, in particular in connection with certain dangerous or hazardous substances and should be considered very carefully. Armed public authority officials should seek, when boarding a ship, to be advised whether the ship is carrying any dangerous goods or hazardous substance and if unfamiliar with the hazards associated with such materials, should seek specific advice on safety precautions to be observed. SOLAS Contracting Governments should ensure that public authorities that are authorized to carry weapons are aware of the specific risks to safety that are present in respect to the carriage of dangerous goods or hazardous substances on board ships and port facilities.

  8.3 The presence of any firearms on board belonging to public authorities, whether such arms were declared or not when boarding the ship, should not be construed as a failure of the ship to implement or to maintain appropriate security measures.

Parent topic: Annex - Guidance on the Access of Public Authorities, Emergency Response Services and Pilots on Board Ships to which SOLAS Chapter XI-2 and the ISPS Code Apply
Copyright 2022 Clasifications Register Group Limited, International Maritime Organization, International Labour Organization or Maritime and Coastguard Agency. All rights reserved. Clasifications Register Group Limited, its affiliates and subsidiaries and their respective officers, employees or agents are, individually and collectively, referred to in this clause as 'Clasifications Register'. Clasifications Register assumes no responsibility and shall not be liable to any person for any loss, damage or expense caused by reliance on the information or advice in this document or howsoever provided, unless that person has signed a contract with the relevant Clasifications Register entity for the provision of this information or advice and in that case any responsibility or liability is exclusively on the terms and conditions set out in that contract.