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Declaration of Security (DoS)

Provisions

The responsibilities between a ship and a port facility or another ship have to be established in the Declaration of Security. This holds in particular for a shift in responsibilities, for the various security levels and for dealings with ships and port facilities that are not bound by the ISPS requirements. At the same time, the requirements of the ISPS-Codes need to be complied with.

The German flag state sets mandatory requirements in which case a Declaration of Security with section 1 of § 9 of the "See-Eigensicherungsverordnung" (Ordinance on Shipboard Security Measures, SeeEigensichV) is required:

  1. The ship is in a port that is not subject to the provision to have and implement a ship security plan; or
  2. the ship performs ship-to-ship activities with another ship that is not subject to the provision to have and implement a ship security plan; or
  3. a different security level applies to the ship than the one of the port facility or another ship of the cooperation.

If the ship is in a port that is not subject to the provision to have and implement a ship security plan (see item 1), the ship has to establish communication with the port security authority or another onshore authority responsible for maritime security. The intend to interact with a non-ISPS certified port facility and the necessity of completing a DoS must be indicated. If there is no person designated onshore to sign the DoS, the ship must provide a similar agreement or proof of communication on board. The retention period of this documentation is the same as for the DoS.

Moreover, completion of a DoS is required whenever a ship's competence laid down in a vessel’s SSP is transferred to the port facility, e.g. ID checks, luggage inspections etc. The purpose of this is to prove transfer of competence from the SSO to the port facility. The same applies in case of a transfer of competence to another ship (e.g. in case of rafts of laid-up ships). Rafts of laid-up ships are several (at least two) ships that are moored together in a row or in a bundle withouth the outside ship being moored to the pier.

Additional information

Ships calling routinely at certain ports, always under the identical general conditions, have the option to agree on a permanent DoS (internationally also known as Continuous DoS) for a period of a year at the most (see Sec. 9 (4), Ordinance on Shipboard Security Measures). A permanent DoS requires written approval from the BSH. Applications for approval can be submitted informally to the BSH. Please enclose a signed DoS form and a detailed description of the conditions and circumstances with the application. 

The DoS must be kept on board German vessels for at least one year from the date of issue (see Sec. 9 (6), Ordinance on Shipboard Security Measures). Competent bodies may verify this.

The form of the DoS must comply with the notification by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (VkBl. 13/2004, S.
383).

Specimen

The following specimens comply with the requirements (see also Verkehrsblatt 13/2004 in German only):