Due for release in January 2012
European Shipowners are set to announce new guidelines for the selection and appointment of armed guards onboard ships.
The new detailed guidelines is due for release in January 2012 and came as a result of meetings between European security bodies, including EU-NAVFOR, and the European Community Shipowners’ Association.
It is claimed that its recommendations would provide both an overview of current guidance and extra details. According toECSA secretary-general Alfons Guinier there are still many problems for owners and the guidance will look to solve these issues.
It is expected that the guidelines will cover everything from certification to liability, while providing more detail than the IMO guidance contained in IMO MSC 1405.
However the association has also stressed that it does not support the use of armed guards as an ultimate solution to piracy, and is still looking for theinternational community, the member states, the members of the UN Security Council, to ensure that the sea is safe for merchant ships.
The guidelines and requirements join an increasingly congested space, as there are a number of different standards seemingly being established. There have been P&I Clubs using their own vetting, there are moves by the UK Home Office to provide checks and many shipowners are also doing their own in-house verifications.
There is a danger that this could become rather complex, and one maritime security provider said that there is a danger that some smaller companies will spend more time trying to show that they comply with various different guidelines rather than actually applying them.
The answer for many seems to lie in a scheme of certification which can demonstrate that maritime security companies comply with all guidelines and are at the forefront of best practice. Such as scheme is being developed by the Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI), and with a number of companies currently passing through a pilot accreditation scheme it seems that their timing could not be better.
Source: Neptune Maritime Security
