IPSA Section Chairman, Roger Felgate writes of maritime sector security.
Recently in Security Management an excellent article showed the need to carry out a SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats) analysis in the security industry. Within the maritime sector it is the right time to focus on those aspects especially when considering the worldwide Political and Economic pressures on the shipping industry, the security threats involved and the use of new technology and the potential cyber threats.
In the maritime industry a document has recently been published labelled Maritime 2050 with a forward by Chris Grayling MP. You can view at – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maritime-2050-navigating-the-future.
This is a strategy document that is focused on building a strong management platform, and then as a backcloth to allow companies to plan their own development. Maritime security is a key aspect within the future planning and in the short term (one to five years) involves the government leading in risk assessment, analysis and emergence of new threats to shipping and port operations, in the global shipping sphere.
In the medium term (five to 15 years) there is a need to work with the IMO and other institutions on an intra-country basis aligning future developments of maritime security regulations and standards with potential risks and threats.
In 2010 the UK’s Strategic Defence and Security Review set up a National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC), that brings together intelligence from Border Force, MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency), police, armed forces, FCO (Foreign Office) and the NCA (National Crime Agency) to provide a unified situational awareness of maritime activity.
Maritime 2050 is a very large (338-page) document and is written assuming a sound base at present, to develop upon. There would seem to be a number of problems, however. The lack of standards in Maritime Security is a key point. We have to comply to the ISPS code but Maritime Standards in the UK are not well defined or enforced. EN 16747 is approved by the BSI, enforced in Europe but not complied with or enforced in the UK. There is no requirement for a Port Facility Security Officer to update him/herself in current technology /procedures within a Port, or to re-validate the qualification.
Our better maritime security companies try to work to the standard EN16747, but we still find security officers not trained in maritime aspects in a maritime environment. The better companies are well aware of the need to train their employees and many use the CoESS (Confederation of European Security Services) training programme (European Training Manual for Maritime Security Personnel – ISPS Code), but there is no recognition by the SIA of a โmaritime specialisationโ for security officers.
There are new and specialist security areas, especially in the โcyberโ area where ships, warehouse systems and operating systems could be sabotaged, taken over or destroyed if not properly protected.
The current situation with under-manning and lack of equipment in our police forces, border agencies, coastguard and military resources leaves one with the thought that we are trying to build and develop a secure maritime industry – but hopefully not with feet of clay.
