New legislation to better protect ports from organised crime
A new law is coming into force to better protect Belgian ports and ships from drug smuggling, terrorist threats, foreign interference, economic espionage and cybercrime, minister for Justice and the North Sea Vincent Van Quickenborne announced on Monday.
The Maritime Security Act aims to protect all infrastructure at sea and in Belgian ports from organised crime and anyone with bad intentions targeting the ports. It has been in force since 1 January, but the royal decree (RD) implementing the law was published last week.
Port security plan
The new legislation strengthens the operations of the Maritime Security Cell within the Directorate-General of Shipping, in order to improve security in ports and port facilities. The scope of the law covers the country's six seaports (Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Ghent, Ostend, Liege and Brussels) and 198 port facilities. Of these, 170 are located in the seaports and 28 along the inland waterways, where seagoing vessels can dock.
Additionally, the new law optimises the existing port security plan, which coordinates security measures for different port areas with different security characteristics.
International cooperation
Early last month, on 5 June, an international summit on the fight against organised crime took place at the Port House in Antwerp. The meeting of ministers and top officials from Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain resulted in a joint declaration calling for more European and global cooperation in several areas. The six European countries already cooperate in the fight against organised crime but called on the European institutions to do much more. "We want to reach very concrete agreements with our European colleagues," said Interior minister Annelies Verlinden. New legislation to better protect ports from organised crime
(BRV)
#FlandersNewsService | Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE
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