Dryad Maritime Intelligence, a U.K. maritime intelligence provider, issued guidance on the latest framework of standards to be issued by the maritime security industry.
Their advisory considers and comments upon the three main proposed standards that are currently hot topics of debate in the maritime security industry; the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) PAS 28007, the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC) and ANSI / ASIS PSC 1 & 4.
Karen Jacques, Dryad Maritime’s Chief Operating Officer; “The sheer speed at which this framework is being set up has inevitably led to a degree of confusion about what this means for the shipping industry and how much the standards are likely to overlap. At Dryad, our role is to provide specialist advice and services to assist seafarers in going about their day to day business – we hope that this article gives some clarity on the topic.”
The revised standards are expected to be implemented in order to provide a framework of accreditation to be used by ship owners, managers and operators. One of the key benefits of the introduction of these standards is that it will allow seafarers to select accredited and approved privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP). Dryad‘s commentary looks closely at the current trial of this standard ahead of its proposed introduction in Spring 2014. Although the development of the (ISO)/PAS 28007 will not necessarily eliminate other national accreditation requirements, it is hoped that the burden of due diligence on ship owners will be significantly reduced.
Dryad’s guidance continues by considering the ICoC standards for Private Security Companies, paying particular focus to the ICoC’s grounding within the principles of the Montreux document. Dryad goes on to discuss the planned overhaul of the body which will see the introduction of membership fees, audits and accreditation.
For those that reach the standards set by the planned introduction of ANSI / ASIS PSC 1 & 4 - a series of American National Standards, they will also crucially be certified as conforming to the ICoC standard with no additional auditing required.
