Biometric Identification for Seafarers
With the recent upsurge of terrorist activities around the world, international travel has become a bit of a nightmare, with long queues for stringent security checks. Even the process of issuing visas has become very strict, and in some cases it may take a couple of months before a travel visa is issued. One of the hardest hit communities due to this security clampdown has been the maritime community. The introduction of the ISPS code has resulted in an additional drain of manpower on already short-manned ships. The stringent security checks in airports have resulted in many delayed or missed flights and frayed nerves.
Luckily there seems to be a glimmer of hope with the International Labor Organization's (ILO) biometric system of identification. Although still in the last stage of testing, this system hopes to bring about a secure and internationally accepted document of identification for the world's 1.2 million seafarers. This system will essentially convert the seafarer's fingerprints into a biometric template which will then be encoded into a bar code on the Seafarer's Identity Document (SID). In this manner, every seafarer will be issued with a unique personal identification proof that he can use all over the world.
A unique feature of the SID is that even though it will be issued by the country to which the seafarer belongs, the information and format of this document will be such that it can be read by a biometric scanner anywhere in the world. This is also the main reason for the several years of testing that the ILO has subjected this system to in order to ensure that it meets the criteria of global operability.
Although the SID is not meant to replace the passport, it will have serious implications in reducing the time wasted at airport security checks. This document will enable immigration and security officials to quickly establish the bona fides of every seafarer and will ensure that they are put through less stringent immigration and security checks. It may even loosen the shore-leave restrictions that are imposed on seafarers in many ports.
Luckily there seems to be a glimmer of hope with the International Labor Organization's (ILO) biometric system of identification. Although still in the last stage of testing, this system hopes to bring about a secure and internationally accepted document of identification for the world's 1.2 million seafarers. This system will essentially convert the seafarer's fingerprints into a biometric template which will then be encoded into a bar code on the Seafarer's Identity Document (SID). In this manner, every seafarer will be issued with a unique personal identification proof that he can use all over the world.
A unique feature of the SID is that even though it will be issued by the country to which the seafarer belongs, the information and format of this document will be such that it can be read by a biometric scanner anywhere in the world. This is also the main reason for the several years of testing that the ILO has subjected this system to in order to ensure that it meets the criteria of global operability.
Although the SID is not meant to replace the passport, it will have serious implications in reducing the time wasted at airport security checks. This document will enable immigration and security officials to quickly establish the bona fides of every seafarer and will ensure that they are put through less stringent immigration and security checks. It may even loosen the shore-leave restrictions that are imposed on seafarers in many ports.
