Maritime Security is the business of protecting people, ships, cargoes, assets and operations on the surface and beneath the waters of the world.

It involves doing difficult things in a dangerous and demanding environment and it follows that the business of providing it is a higly specialised one which falls naturally to people who are seafarers first and foremost, and security specialists second. In an industry fast-growing in response to burgeoning Western Indian Ocean piracy, it is remarkable that several of the larger emerging maritime security providers are former land-based army people who only partly fulfil the security criteria (security at sea is very different from security in the streets of Basra) and have never seen a ship in their lives.

IMSA Ltd is a maritime security provider, but one who fulfils the maritime and the security criteria in full. All IMSA Ltd Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel (PCASP) qualify under the stringent rules laid down by Norwegian shipowners in their Den Norske Krigsforsikring for Skib – Gjensidig Forening -(The Norwegian Shipowners’ Mutual War Risks Insurance Association) – Guidance on the selection of private security companies (PSC) 29.03.11. All the company’s consultants are former Royal Navy or Royal Marines sea-going people, and the majority have many years of experience as well in the commercial sector.

A true maritime security service has several components. The service that IMSA Ltd provides will audit and asses a client’s ship. It will report and make recommendations for hardening and protecting the ship and if necessary, superintend and oversee the implementation of those recommendations. IMSA Ltd is a fully certificated training organisation that can train, drill and exercise crew and Masters and the company office key personnel. The company is part of a Norwegian consortium providing maritime security in the widest sense, and another consortium member – Bergen Risk Solutions AS – provides an intelligence and optimum track routeing service alongside IMSA Ltd’s provision of armed guards.

With the provision of a proper maritime security service where armed guards or PCASPs are employed, it is vital that the Master and crew of the ship being secured have faith in those who are embarked to provide the service. All IMSA Ltd people – and especially the Team Leaders of the 4 man PCASP team, are selected primarily for their ability to get on with Masters. They will be familiar with ships, with the sea-going lexicon, and with the business of running a ship at sea. They can thus augment the lookout, help operate the ship as well as provide protection. Their greatest asset is perhaps their ability – well tested and honed – to provide a sounding board for the Master: someone to whom he can turn and depend upon in a crisis and who knows the business of maritime security inside out.

Maritime Security is a post from: Independent Maritime Security Associates

Marine Security is not Maritime security. The distinction is a subtle one and dictated more by modern useage than hard and fast rules of grammar. In the common lexicon used by seafarers, maritime security is the everyday security of themselves, their ships and cargoes in the face of largely man-made hazards that they may encounter. Marine security on the other hand is an altogether wider matter which encompasses natural as well as man-made hazards and requires a somewhat different approach to counter. An example illustrating the difference might be a comparison between a Private Maritime Security Company (PMSC) and a charitable organisation such as the Royal Naval Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Whilst both are in the business of saving life, the former is unarguably a maritime security provider and the latter is in the wider world of providing security to the marine world. The PMSC to save life, assesses the man-made threats to his clients’ interests and puts together a series of mitigations to counteract them. The RNLI sees things rather differently and in a wider sense. The threat that organisation is dealing with is generated not only by man’s innocent weaknesses and in some cases stupidity, but every bit as much by the forces of nature.

Marine security is as much about the whole ocean and littoral environment as it is about life-saving on the beaches. In 1993 a tanker called the BRAER bound from Bergen to Norway, lost power during a storm and drifted onto rocks on the southern shore of Shetland where she broke up. The ensuing oil spillage was extensive and did incalculable damage to the environment and eco-system of the northern waters, to say nothing of the damage to the economies of that part of the world. Subsequently, Lord Donaldson, sitting in the Admiralty Courts, ruled that Government had a responsibility for the security of the marine scene – marine security no less – and that it should provide a counter to the sort of accident that caused the BRAER spillage. Two emergency marine security sea-going rescue tugs were to be provided from government funds, both to be stationed permanently at sea, one off the Scilly Isles in the south west of England, and the other off the north coast of Scotland. In the subsequent 18 years, 43 ship casualties were rescued by the two tugs, providing very real marine security to the people, flaura and fauna of coastal Britain. It is to be lamented that the coalition government of 2011 are unpersuaded that marine security is either a factor or worth upholding for it has removed both tugs as being “unaffordable”.

Contrary to popular mythology, marine security has got nothing to do with looking after a Royal Marine on a run ashore – Royal Navy parlance for a “night on the town”. Not only do Royal Marines not appreciate being called “Marines” – that is a very American mistake – they are also quite capable of looking after themselves in the un-friendliest of towns and have absolutely no requirement for marine security.

Marine Security is a post from: Independent Maritime Security Associates

The Ships Security Officer Course (The SSO Course) came into existence as a result of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (The ISPS Code). This maritime Code is for the detection and assessment of threats and the taking of preventative measures against security incidents affecting ships or port facilities used in international trade. The Code stipulates that every ship is to have a Ship Security Officer, and that he or she must receive training in their duties. This is achieved by means of a SSO Course, normally conducted by a Private Maritime Security Company or PMSC.

Part B of the ISPS Code – the guidance rather than the mandatory regulations which are found in Part A – describes the level of knowledge required of a Ship Security Officer. Several recognised maritime organisations – such as the International Chamber of Shipping and the United Nations IMO have produced widely accepted model SSO Courses based on Part B of the Code. Many training providers have used these model courses to construct an SSO Course which they then market as having the IMO or ICoC stamp of approval. Other PMSCs have designed their own SSO Courses and had these subsequently accredited by a Classification Society or the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. IMSA Ltd has chosen to go this route although it has also written bespoke SSO Courses according with the model course formats for particular clients. IMSA Ltd is unique in offering a further adjunct to the SSO Course in providing within the same number of days, a module addressing the added security requirements for a ship going into piracy-prone waters. This has been marketed as the SSO Course Plus and is particularly useful for those attending the course who are not from a seafaring background.

The SSO Course itself as provided by most trainers is scheduled to last for 3 days. IMSA Ltd’s SSO Course Plus conforms to this and is a useful mixture of lectures, role play and ship visits. Courses are run regularly in Poole at IMSA’s headquarters, but depending on the client’s requirements, a trainer can be sent anywhere in the world to conduct the same SSO Course, using the client’s training facilities. There is an examination at the end of the course which candidates must pass before being awarded an internationally recognised certificate, duly certificated by a recognising authority.

Despite the requirement for a SSO Course to be formally recognised and in some way accredited, the quality of course provided varies from PMSC to PMSC and the prospective client for a SSO Course is well advised to shop around before deciding where to spend his money. The questions to ask are first – “What sort of people are teaching the course and what are their qualifications?”; second – “Which body is accrediting this SSO Course?”; and third – “Do I know anybody who has done this particular SSO Course?” Personal experience of a course and a good recommendation are strong indicators that the PMSC knows what he is doing in offering such a SSO Course.

SSO Course is a post from: Independent Maritime Security Associates

The job of ‘Ship Security Officer’ (The SSO) came into being as a result of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (The ISPS Code). This maritime Code is for the detection and assessment of threats and the taking of preventative measures against security incidents affecting ships or port facilities used in international trade. The Code stipulates that every ship is to have a Ship Security Officer, and that he or she must receive training in their duties. This is achieved by means of a SSO Course, normally conducted by a Private Maritime Security Company or PMSC, and having qualified on such a course, the proud holder of a certificate proclaiming him or her to be a Ship Security Officer can offer themselves as a candidate for such a post in a ship.

A three day course is not going to make an expert in maritime security out of even the most gifted student. The Ship Security Officer however will have some specialist knowledge which was not available in a ship in the days before the ISPS Code appeared. He or she will know what an IED looks like. They will have some idea of how to arrange the natural defences of a ship and adjust its day to day practices and evolutions in such a way as to mitigate against an escalating threat. They will also have a little knowledge of how to pass on what they have learned as a Ship Security Officer to the rest of the crew by means of drills and exercises.

The duties of a Ship Security Officer are important for the ship’s safety and security but they are not especially onerous or time consuming. The job of Ship Security Officer is thus an additional duty for a complement officer already on board the ship. The Code does not stipulate which complement officer that should be, but it is worth taking the time to consider who might be best suited to the job. Many companies favour making the Master of a ship its Ship Security Officer. In others the job can fall to the Chief Officer or Chief Engineer, and in yet others it is seen as an additional nuisance task, to be passsed down to the most junior of officers. IMSA Ltd with its strong Royal Navy and Royal Marines pedigree believes that it should rightly go to an officer with some authority. The Master is probably too busy with all his other many duties and an administrative load in managing the ship which is forever on the increase. The Ship Security Officer however is too vital a post to go to a very junior officer. Given that whoever does the job is going to have to argue for time in which to train and prepare the crew for their security roles, and make the subject of security important for everyone, the post of Ship Security Officer will best be filled by the Chief or in a large ship the Second Officer.

Ship Security Officer is a post from: Independent Maritime Security Associates

Vessel security has taken on a whole new meaning with the upsurge of pirate attacks on ships in the Western Indian Ocean in the last 5 years. The ISPS Code which was aimed at anti-terrorist provision for ships and ports in the wake of the attack on Manhattan’s Twin Towers, did much to establish the basic principles of improving vessel security. Until 2004 when the Code came into force, many ships had little physical vessel security in place and even less security trained people. Nevertheless, its provisions were adopted reluctantly by owners and operators who saw it as little other than yet another dent in their ‘bottom line’, imposed by governments panicked into action by the Twin Towers attrocities, and oblivious to the ship owners difficulties in making a living.

Indian Ocean piracy however, constituted a much more clear and present threat, but it has taken time for this too, to translate into a question of vessel security. In the early days when attacks were concentrated in the Gulf of Aden, ship operators saw the protection of their ships from pirates as being the job of military naval forces. The latter have done as much as resources will allow them to do in this regard, but as soon as the pirates began to range more widely in search of unprotected targets in the Indian Ocean, and develop their attack plans and tactics, the effectiveness of on-station warships started to diminish. Vessel security became a matter for the individual ship owner and operator, and the importance of maritime security professionals to assist them, began to dawn on them.

A ship or vessel is an inherently ‘soft’ target. It is comparitively slow, large, manned with very few people, none of whom know anything about war-fighting, and although often out of sight of land, on a predictable route across the ocean to get from ‘A’ to ‘B’ as quickly and economically as possible. They and their cargoes are worth a lot of money and surprisingly, details of where they are and where they’re going are readily available as a result of AIS and other web-based means. Vessel security is the term given to countering all this vulnerability.

Vessel security can be improved in any number of ways by a maritime security provider like IMSA Ltd. The first step is to establish where the vulnerabilities are by means of an On-Site-security-survey or OSSS. Following the ISPS Code procedure, this would naturally lead to a Ship Security Assessment and thence a Ship Security Plan, but assuming these are already approved and in place, an anti-piracy survey and a cross-check with BMP4 measures is more likely. The physical measures required for good vessel security are only half the equation however. Vessel security can be improved vastly by ensuring the Master and crew are trained, drilled and exercised in all aspects of maritime security. IMSA Ltd has much experience of providing such training and is alwys delighted to discuss a client’s needs in this area.

Vessel Security is a post from: Independent Maritime Security Associates

The ISPS Code or International Ship and Port Facility Security Code is a unique piece of international legislation which came into being unusually swiftly in response to the 9.11 attack on the Twin Towers. Independent Maritime Security Associates (IMSA Ltd) is proud to have been associated with it since its inception and the company’s directors not only helped to draft and bring it into law, but also with a number of Associates, did many of the initial inspections and surveys of ships and ports the world over that the ISPS Code was asking for. The company’s trainers have been active too since the earliest days, training Company and Ship Security Officers (CSOs and SSOs) and still enjoy a high turn-over of students.

The objectives of the Code are:

• to establish an international framework involving co-operation between Contracting Governments, Government agencies, local administrations and the shipping and port industries to detect and assess security threats and take preventive measures against security incidents affecting ships or port facilities used in inernational trade;
• to establish the effective roles and responsibilities of all these parties concerned , at the national and international level, for ensuring maritime security;
• to ensure the early and efficient collation and exchange of security-related information;
• to provide a methodology for security assessmens so as to have in place plans and procedures to react to changing security levels; and
• to ensure confidence that adequate and proportionate maritime security measures are in place.

These objectives are achieved by the designation of appropriate officers and people on each ship, in each port facility and in each shipping company to prepare and to put into effect the security plans that are approved for each ship and port facility.

The rationale for the ISPS Code was that 9.11 carried out against a land-based target was only the beginning of a possible range of attacks against developed world organisations and practices. The carriage of world trade underpinning the functioning of the world’s economy was judged to be at risk from terrorist attack and thus security of ships and ports needed to be addressed.

In the ensuing 7 years since the ISPS Code came into force, the measures it has imposed on the shipping and ports industries has clearly had not only a deterrent effect in preventing large-scale terrorist attacks, but has also improved the standard of operating efficiencies in the areas where ISPS Code measures have been adopted.

The ISPS Code has also lent itself to the threat that has arisen during its life-time – that of piracy. IMSA Ltd was quick to identify that the ship or port that wholeheartedly and pragmatically embraces the ISPS Code, is already well prepared to tackle the added burden of transiting and operating in piracy-prone waters. All of IMSA Ltd’s anti-piracy training and provision uses the ISPS Code as its starting-point, and the Code has given the company’s product a legitimacy and logic often not found in the products of other maritime security providers.

ISPS Code is a post from: Independent Maritime Security Associates

Scenario:

A leading Seismic company required a Security Risk Assessment of a proposed survey area off the East African coast.

Threat:

Piracy, Terrorism and a conflict with Fishing.

Conclusion:

IMSA undertook the Security Risk Assessment. Careful security planning and work preparation, and thorough personnel training – linked to a prudent security regime in line with the measures outlined in the risk assessment – will ensure that the seismic survey is carried out safely and efficiently with the minimum risk to personnel and equipment.

Seismic Security Risk Assessment is a post from: Independent Maritime Security Associates

Scenario:

A Norwegian company required 2 x MSLO for a 30 day survey off the coast of Guinea/Sierra Leone.

Threat:

There had been numerous reported attacks in the region in 2009 including:

18 Dec 2009, 1823 LT – Armed Assault, Chemical tanker, 58 nm off Conakry. Pirates armed with machine guns in a speedboat approached and fired upon a chemical tanker drifting. The tanker increased speed, enforced anti piracy measures, reported to authorities and prevented the pirates from boarding it. No injuries to crew.

Conclusion:

IMSA provided 2 x MSLO with extensive commercial anti piracy experience on merchant vessels. The 2 MSLO also had relevant STCW95 security and safety qualifications and certificates, a requirement of the client. An initial anti piracy hardening assessment was undertaken followed by the hardening of the vessel, production of vessel specific security plans and crew training. Due to the presence onboard of the MLSO and the overt deterrent measures undertaken the survey was completed without incident.

Provision of MSLO for Seismic Survey is a post from: Independent Maritime Security Associates

Scenario:

A major oil company wanted to provide an Offshore Security Vessel to a new field development off the Niger Delta, in Nigeria.

Threat:

IMSA associates were involved in the development of the field security procedures for the Exclusion Zone and the introduction of RIBs for patrolling and interdiction.

The role also included liaison between the Federal Nigerian Navy personnel onboard the Field Security Vessel and the Oil Company.

Conclusion:

Although there were invasions of the field on a regular basis from the local communities and incursions from fishing vessels, no loss of life nor major damage occurred. This was as a direct result of the procedures that were developed by IMSA associates

These procedures were borne out of the experience of the associates in maritime security techniques and experience worldwide that included:

• British military Maritime Security experience.
• Liaison with foreign military formations.
• RIB operations in hostile environments.
• Commercial understanding of the Oil companies priorities.
• Effective use of Security Vessels in an MEZ.

Oil Field Security & Liaison in Nigeria is a post from: Independent Maritime Security Associates

Scenario:

A major offshore projects management company required onboard security and an interdiction capability for 3 survey vessels, involved in the UXO survey of the track of a projected subsurface oil pipeline off the Al Faw peninsular, Iraq.

Threat:

The major threat was assessed as Iraqi militants disrupting capital infrastructure projects. Other threats identified:

• Local opportunistic pirate attacks
• Fishing activity disrupting the survey
• Iranian revolutionary Guard activity

Conclusion:

Although there were invasions of the field on a regular basis from the local communities and incursions from fishing vessels, no loss of life nor major damage occurred. This was as a direct result of the procedures that were developed by IMSA associates.

A multi talented team of marsec specialists was assembled, based on former Royal Marine RIB coxswains who were also responsible for armed watch on deck. Team leaders were responsible for undertaking security audits of the vessels and developing operational procedures for the management of all aspects of maritime security.

IMSA Ltd provided the initial planning, pre mobilisation training and on-scene project security management. The company sourced marsec personnel and provided advice on procurement of every item of marsec equipment that was used.

This was a sensitive operation due its proximity to the Iranian border, with much time spent working within the Coalition security umbrella around the Iraqi offshore oil export terminals.

A complex operation with logistics bases in Kuwait and Iraq, it was successfully and securely completed within the 7 month contract.

Manpower Supply and Equipment Consultancy is a post from: Independent Maritime Security Associates