An Accepted International Standard

Despite being on the front line for a sharp decline in successful hijackings in the Gulf of Aden, the use of armed guards has divided the opinions of the maritime industry, governments, and the UN

At last, an accepted international standard for maritime security

By Gary Howard, Seatrade Global

Despite being on the front line for a sharp decline in successful hijackings in the Gulf of Aden, the use of armed guards has divided the opinions of the maritime industry, governments, and the UN.

With no definitive accreditation or standard for private maritime security companies to work towards and a series of failed attempts to set an industry standard, one of the main objections to having armed personnel aboard a vessel is the inability to verify the capabilities and professionalism of companies offering to place guards with lethal weapons aboard commercial vessels.

The ISO 28007 standard is the latest and most authoritative attempt to separate qualified security providers from the under-resourced and ill-equipped. ISO 28007 has gathered the support of organisations including INTERPOL, IMO, and the European Commission. Bimco even announced earlier this year that any private maritime security……[access full article]