Gray Page, the specialist maritime intelligence, investigation and crisis management company, said today that laws, regulations and guidelines already exist against which armed maritime security providers (AMSPs) can be scrutinised.
The assessment criteria that Gray Page uses in its Armed Maritime Security Provider Vetting Programme incorporates, for example, extant British and EU legislation on the ownership, licensing and control of firearms and ammunition, the compliance requirements enshrined in conventions such as the International Code of Conduct (ICOC) for Private Security Service Providers, and guidance published the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the International Group of P&I Clubs and flag States including the UK Department for Transport.
James Wilkes, managing director, Gray Page, commented: “It is a misconception that there are currently no standards against which the legitimacy and competency of AMSPs operations can be measured. There is plethora of criterion that can reasonably be applied in vetting the activities of an AMSP. We support the call for maritime-specific regulation, but on-going industry deliberations in that respect do not obviate the regulations and laws that already exist with which AMSP should comply.
“Our vetting programme is exposing the fact that a significant majority of AMSPs are not demonstrably operating within existing legal and regulatory frameworks. Indeed, so far, few companies seem to have even a rudimentary understanding of the insurance and contractual issues that P&I Clubs, for example, have been highlighting. There are companies providing armed maritime security services safely, lawfully and professionally, but at present they are a notable minority. This should be a concern to shipowners.”
John Thompson, a Director at Ambrey Risk, commented: “As the number of companies in the armed maritime security market continues to grow, it is inevitable that there will be significant variances in the integrity of the services being offered.
At Ambrey we are keenly aware of our legal and regulatory obligations in providing armed guards and pride ourselves on raising standards in the maritime security industry. We have taken the time to deeply understand the environment in which we operate and we have a duty to our clients to do so. By virtue of helping shipowners with their background due diligence on prospective armed maritime security companies, Gray Page's Armed Maritime Security Provider Vetting Programme is actually setting high bench-mark standards in our rapidly expanding industry. Ambrey welcome the Programme and the transparency it brings to the market.”
Mike Salthouse, Director of North of England P&I Association, which is a prominent supporter of Gray Page's Armed Maritime Security Provider Vetting Programme, commented: “Gray Page vets armed maritime security providers on behalf of North and its Members and the results to date demonstrate that a number of companies are not meeting the generally accepted standards required of an armed maritime security provider.
While it is a concern that standards in the armed maritime security sector are not what they should be, our Members can be assured that the vetting programme will help them identify those companies that operate professionally, safely and, crucially, within the law.”
Source: Gray Page