4.1 SOLAS Contracting Governments should issue appropriate identification documents, which should include a photograph of the holder, where appropriate, to Government officials entitled to board ships or enter port facilities when performing their official duties and to establishprocedureswherebytheauthenticityofsuchdocumentsmightbeverified.Government officialsshouldpresenttheiridentificationdocumentswhenrequestedtodosoataccesscontrol points to port facilities and ships and if challenged when on board.
4.2 SOLAS Contracting Governments should ensure that the method of verifying the authenticity of identification documents carried by public authorities and emergency response services is available to ships directly through information provided by the port State or the coastal State.
4.3 The form, format and language of identity documents, of public authorities, and of emergencyresponseservicesandofpilotsareregulatedbynationalorlocallegislationsandthere isnointernationalstandardtothisend. Insomecases,suchidentitydocumentsdonotbearthe nameoftheindividualbutsimplyanidentificationnumberwhichmaybealphanumericormay notincludethenameoftheindividualbutsimplyaphotographoftheholder. Ifthelanguageof theidentitydocumentsisnotinEnglish,FrenchorSpanishtheseshouldhaveatranslation,in one of the three, preferably English, included in the same document of identity.
4.4 Public authorities, emergency response services and pilots whether in uniform or not, should present an identity document when seeking to board a ship. Section A/17.2.13 of the ISPSCoderequirestheportfacilitysecurityofficer(PFSO)toassistshipsecurityofficer(SSOs)
inconfirmingtheidentityofthoseseekingtoboardtheshipwhenrequestedandtheportfacility plan(PFSP)should,inaccordancewithparagraphB/16.8.13oftheISPSCode,establishforall securitylevels,theproceduresforassistingSSOsinconfirmingtheidentityofthoseseekingto board the ship. When presenting identity documents the person concerned should be ready to providecontactdetailswhichallowthevalidityoftheidentificationdocumenttobeverified,in addition to the information provided to the ship, in accordance with the paragraph 4.2above.
4.5 Emergency response services need to show only the identity document of the person-in-charge of the team responding to the incident, where practicable. The person-in-charge should be able to informthe ship the number of emergency response personnel who are boarding.
4.6 Theissueofvisitoridentificationdocumentsbytheshiptopublicauthorities,emergency response services and pilots who have provided, when seeking to board the ship, verifiable identitymaynotbewarrantedandmayexhibit,inlieuofvisitoridentificationdocumentsissued by the ship, their official identification documents. If the aforesaid do not display visitor identificationdocumentsissuedbytheship,thisfactshouldnotbeconstruedasafailureofthe shiptoimplementortomaintainappropriatesecuritymeasures. Publicauthorities,emergency response services and pilots should not be required to surrender their official identification documents when boarding a ship.