The Maritime Security Consultant: ‘Maritime security firms want regulation’

Over the years, private maritime security firms have received unfair and unjustified criticism. Indeed, in certain circles they’ve come to be seen as trigger happy mercenaries.

It’s an image that’s not easy to shake off. Even the UN has taken pot-shots at the industry and its lack of regulation, saying that without any regulation there’s “a genuine risk that the sector’s exploitation by unscrupulous and criminal actors will eventually come to represent a threat to regional peace and security.”

Amid the indecision of national Governments and UN agencies about how best to proceed, it’s the industry itself that’s leading the way in calling for – and assisting with – a defined regulatory structure.

MAST is playing a leading role in tandem with agencies like SAMI (the Security Association for the Maritime Industry) and the ISO (International Standards Organisation) to formulate internationally recognised standards for private maritime security companies.

For its part, the ISO has been given a mandate by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to complete this task. Ongoing discussions are aimed at producing a transparent framework that will allow maritime security companies to identify all the applicable legislation and demonstrate their compliance before, during and after operations.

Demand for specialist security increasing

The demand for specialist maritime security is increasing as trade and the exploration for oil and gas and other minerals continues to extend into areas where there are security concerns.

The reason shipping companies have turned to private security companies for help is to protect their crews and cargo from the actions of pirates. We must never forget the human cost of these attacks. Last year alone, 35 sailors lost their lives as a result of attacks by pirates. That’s 35 too many.

The international community is rightly concerned about the risks associated with private security deploying in high risk areas, such as off the coast of Somalia.

One of the interesting aspects of the Somalia issue is the way private security companies have, by and large, been kept out of the country. However, at a time when formal naval resources are limited it’s clear that there might be useful roles for the right sort of private security company, retained by the right sort of State or UN agency, in maintaining neutral, non-political law and order on the high seas.

Identifying the competent and responsible companies

How can Governments, UN agencies, the shipping industry and others identify the competent, responsible and transparent security companies?

The UK has taken the lead in this area: MAST is an active member of the UK’s Security in Complex Environments Group (SCEG) (a not-for profit partnership between the UK’s FCO and the UK private security industry) which has been the pioneer of detailed proposals and drafts for what the IMO, through the auspices of ISO, intends to become the international standard for private maritime security companies – and this as early as the close of 2012.

We hope that, in due course, this will help to facilitate the difficult decisions that the UK Government, the Royal Navy and the shipping industry will face, from time to time, about the use of private security in exceptional circumstances.

There are clear signals that the shipping industry, which recently introduced a standard contract for use between ship owners and PSCs (BIMCO’s ‘Guardcon’ contract), is also fully behind this drive for an international standard for maritime PSCs.

If more is required of us then we and other leaders in this industry are prepared to listen.

Standards: not a panacea

The standards that MAST and the private maritime security industry are striving towards will provide a starting point for shipping concerns to make informed decisions about which companies they choose to trust, but they’re not a panacea.

In truth, piracy can only be addressed through concerted and co-ordinated action led by navies, shipping companies and the insurance industry and using private security teams on board ships. There must also be a consistent approach to maritime security across all shipping.

Without this, pirates know that not all vessels are adequately protected and they will continue to exploit this unco-ordinated approach, in turn causing huge cost to global trade and immense human misery.

Philip Cable is CEO of MAST (Maritime Asset Security and Training)

About MAST

• Maritime Asset Security and Training (MAST) is a leading security organisation that provides specialist security services for the maritime community. With client satisfaction and a robust approach to standards at its core, MAST has a global infrastructure with offices in Malta, the United Kingdom, Germany, Djibouti, Oman, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and China.
• MAST specialises in providing innovative solutions for a wide range of security problems and offers a range of services including armed protection for commercial ships, contingency response and hijack negotiation, maritime safety and security training, crisis management, explosives ordnance disposal capabilityand a specialist Mega -Yacht security system design and installation service.
• The organisation is committed to the regulation of the security industry and has been at the forefront of working with Governments and industry bodies to achieve this.
• MAST’s business culture and cautious yet thorough approach to the provision of security leads to a clear ethos of professionalism, integrity and respect