In the June print issue of Professional Security magazine, we report that the UK has a space security strategy. Now the UK has a maritime security strategy too.
Maritime security is a cross-government activity which brings together 16 government departments and agencies. At the forefront of these are the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office and the Department for Transport.
The 55-page strategy outlines five priorities:
to promote a secure international maritime area where international maritime laws are upheld
to help other nations develop their own maritime security
to protect the UK and the Overseas Territories, their citizens and economies by supporting the safety and security of ports and offshore installations, and passenger and cargo vessels
to assure the security of vital maritime trade and energy transportation routes
to protect the resources and population of the UK and the Overseas Territories from illegal and dangerous activity
The strategy also introduces a robust government approach to maritime security decision-making and confirms the UK authorities’ commitment to preserving the flow of maritime trade.
Visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-strategy-for-maritime-security
In a foreword that several Government ministers signed, they spoke of economic opportunity by continuing to promote London as the global centre for maritime business, promoting a stable maritime domain and the freedom of the seas.
As for what the risks to UK maritime security are, the document spoke of terrorism, disruption to trade or freedom of navigation, maritime attack against UK infrastructure, arms proliferation, drugs and people smuggling. As for protection of shipping, the strategy mentions armed Private Security Companies – working according to published guidance and legislation) and ‘efforts to increase our resilience in the event of an attack (for example through the establishment and implementation of protective security practices’.
In more detail, the document says: “Where, despite our actions, threats are manifested, we seek to maximise our resilience, response and recovery arrangements. The ‘protect’ task includes, for example, DfT security regulation and advice on protective practice to the commercial maritime industry, the deployment of Royal Navy units to enforce international maritime law and protect UK merchant shipping,28 as well as steps to reduce vulnerabilities at national infrastructure sites, such as ports and offshore installations.”
Like the space security and other strategies, this document arises from the Government’s 2010 National Security Strategy.
On what the strategy terms ‘maritime criminality in the Gulf of Guinea’, the document says that it presents a significant risk to economic development, peace and security in West and Central Africa, and the reduction of these risks will contribute to the security and prosperity of other nations including the UK. The document points to the international group Friends of the Gulf of Guinea (FOGG).
The UK Accreditation Service is conducting a pilot, to accredit certifying bodies to independently certify Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs) to the ISO 28000 standard, incorporating the requirement of the ISO PAS 28007 guidance. This sets out guidelines for PMSCs providing privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships. The Foreign Office is contributing to the funding of the newly- established International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers Association.
