Ship Security Plan

Ship Security Plan (SSP)

Every ship which is subject to the ISPS code must carry a ship security plan (SSP), approved by the administration. The SSP contains all security relevant information on the ship that ais required by the ISPS Code and describes, inter alia, the procedures to be followed and measures to be taken in case of security levels 1 to 3.

The company security officer (CSO) is responsible for the development and maintenance of the SSP (section 7, paragraph 1 of the "See-Eigensicherungsverordnung" - German Ordinance on Shipboard Security Measures). The ship security officer (SSO) is responsible for implementation of the measures and procedures described with that plan. In case of deficiencies in the implementation, sanctions may be imposed on the SSO or the ship. The SSP is a confidential document; you must protect it against unauthorized access and keep it safely locked (section 7, paragraph 5 of the "See-Eigensicherungsverordnung" - German Ordinance on Shipboard Security Measures).

Minimum requirements for a ship security plan (SSP)

The minimum requirements for the content of a SSP for seagoing ships flying the German flag are made mandatory with the ISPS Code (section 9 of part A and part B), in combination with article 3 paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Regulation (EC) no 725/2004 and the "See-Eigensicherungsverordnung" (German Ordinance on Shipboard Security Measures). In addition, national German requirements for SSPs must be complied with and the following pages from the BSH must be inserted.

• BSH-SSP-pages (English)

On request the BSH provides a model SSP, which contains already the structural requirements and only needs to be completed with vessel and company specific details. Please direct your request to the adjacent contact.

Please submit the following documents:

• Application for  examination and approval of a ship security plan (SSP)
• preliminary SSP directly to the BSH (42) or alternatively to a RSO (including the ship security assessment - SSA),
• General Arrangement Plan
• Minimum Safety Manning Document

SSP - approval of plan amendments

The BSH must be informed in writing about all amendments to plans which have already been approved (section 7 paragraph 4 of the "See-Eigensicherungsverordnung" (German Ordinance on Shipboard Security Measures). Substantial changes (in german only) must be approved and will be charged for, marginal changes are free of charge. Upon approval of the documents by the BSH the amended pages are returned to the CSO of the company marked with the approval stamp, in case of substantial changes together with a notification of approval and an invoice.

Please submit the following documents:

• Application for  examination and approval of an amendment to the SSP,
• List of amendments as attachment to the application,
• amended parts of the ship security plan as attachment to the application

You can send the application without signature via e-mail to the BSH which is directly possible from the completed form: click the pdf-print button to create a pdf and use the toolbar option „file – attach to Email“. If you want to submit ship security plans or amendments in an electronic format, please contact the Section S14. Please do not send these attachments via ordinary e-mail to the BSH.