SUA CONVENTION

(Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime
Navigation / Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of
Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf)

The SUA Convention and the Protocol was adopted in 1988 and entered into force in 1992.

Concern about unlawful acts which threaten the safety of ships and the security of their passengers and crews grew during the 1980s, with reports of crews being kidnapped, ships being hi-jacked, deliberately run aground or blown up by explosives. Passengers were threatened and sometimes killed.

In 1985, the problem was considered by IMO and it decided to develop measures to prevent such unlawful acts. In 1988, a conference in Rome adopted the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the
Safety of Maritime Navigation.

The main purpose of the Convention is to ensure that appropriate action is taken against persons committing unlawful acts against ships.

The unlawful acts or offences include;

1. the seizure of ships by force;
2. acts of violence against persons on board ships; and
3. placing of devices on board a ship which are likely to destroy or damage it.

The Convention requires Contracting Governments either to prosecute the person for committing any of the offence, or to hand over the individual to another State which has requested his/her extradition for the same crime.

The amendments to the 1988 Convention were adopted in the form of Protocols to the SUA treaties (the 2005 Protocols). The 2005 Protocol came into force in 2010 and added to the list of offence.

It stated that a person commits an offence within the meaning of the Convention if that person unlawfully and intentionally:

1. intimidates a population, or compels a Government or an international organization to do or to abstain from any act.
2. uses against or on a ship or discharging from a ship any explosive, radioactive material or BCN (biological, chemical, nuclear) weapon in a manner that causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury or damage;
3. discharges, from a ship, oil, liquefied natural gas, or other hazardous or noxious substance, in such quantity or concentration that causes or is likely to cause death or serious injury or damage;
4. uses a ship in a manner that causes death or serious injury or damage;
5. transports on board a ship any explosive or radioactive material, knowing that it is intended to be used to cause death or serious injury or damage.
6. transports on board a ship any BCN weapon, knowing it to be a BCN weapon;

It is also an offence to unlawfully and intentionally,

1. injure or kill any person while committing any of the offences,
2. to attempt to commit an offence,
3. to participate as an accomplice;
4. to organize or direct or force others to commit an offence;
5. to contribute in any way to the offence.

Also, a person commits an offence within the meaning of the Convention if that person unlawfully and intentionally transports another person on board a ship knowing that the person has committed an act that
constitutes an offence under the SUA Convention or an offence set forth in any treaty listed in the Annex. The Annex lists nine such treaties.

The Convention also covers the roles and responsibilities of the master of the ship, flag State and receiving State in delivering to the authorities of any State Party, any person believed to have committed an offence under the Convention, including the furnishing of evidence pertaining to the alleged offence.

The 2005 Protocol covers co-operation and procedures to be followed if a State Party desires to board a ship flying the flag of a State Party when there are reasons to suspect that the ship or a person on board the ship is,
has been, or is about to be involved in, committing an offence under the Convention.

The use of force is to be avoided except when necessary to ensure the safety of officials and persons on board, or where the officials are obstructed to the execution of authorized actions.

Safeguards included in the Convention are:

1. not endangering the safety of life at sea;
2. ensuring that all persons on board are treated in a manner which preserves human dignity
3. taking due account of safety and security of the ship and its cargo;
4. ensuring that measures taken are environmentally sound;
5. taking reasonable efforts to avoid a ship being unduly detained or delayed.

The 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf similarly deals with the prevention of unlawful acts towards Fixed Platforms. The 1988 Protocol was amended by the 2005 Protocol. This new Protocol broadens the range of offences included in the 1988 Protocol.