GOT Confirms Completion of Most ISPS Port

UNCLAS ANKARA 004811 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EB/TRA/OTP AND EUR/SE PARIS FOR TSA AND ECON DHS FOR COAST GUARD/MARITIME SECURITY - CRD LOSCIUTO DEPT PASS TRANSPORTATION DEPT SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EWWT PTER ETRD PREL TU SUBJECT: GOT Confirms Completion of Most ISPS Port Assessments/Plans Ref: (A) State 176649 (B) State 173908 (C) Ankara 4574 (C) Oliverie/Haywood Email 8/18/04 Sensitive But Unclassified. Please Handle Accordingly. ¶1. (U) This cable contains an action request in para 4. ¶2. (U) Econoff delivered revised demarche (ref A) to the Turkish Maritime Administration advising that countries, including Turkey, which have reported less than full compliance with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea's (SOLAS) International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) will be included in a U.S. Port Security Advisory and requesting further information on Turkish implementation of ISPS requirements. ¶3. (U) Okay Kilic, Head of the Maritime Security Department of the Maritime Administration, confirmed that Turkey has approved security assessments on all/all 154 port facilities and has approved port security plans for 111 of these ports. These include Turkey's major ports servicing trade with the United States and third countries. Kilic said that for 130 ports, this data has been reported to the International Maritime Organization's (IMO),but that Turkey has not yet been able to report its work on some other ports which do not have identification numbers. We have requested an updated list of port security assessments/plans from the Maritime Administration. Action Request -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Ref D information, which reports that some 85 percent of Turkey's ports are not ISPS-compliant, is at odds with information reported by the GOT. Given that major Turkish ports shipping goods to the United States apparently comply with ISPS requirements, Embassy requests that Coast Guard and EB evaluate carefully the information available prior to including Turkey in any advisory on this issue. We urge that the timing of the advisory be reconsidered to allow us to work bilaterally to encourage Turkey's full compliance with the ISPS. We also request press guidance, in the event that Turkey is included in a Coast Guard advisory. Edelman