Allen Leatt
The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) is hosting a Security Seminar in London on Thursday 10 November which will focus on human factors in modern maritime security. Sponsored by Subsea 7 and Technip, the event is a continuation of IMCA’s new series of mini-seminars – niche events tailored to tackle specific topics.
“The day-long seminar at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in South Kensington will provide an invaluable opportunity for all concerned to understand the impact of human factors on security in key areas of the offshore marine contracting industry – both in the oil and gas, and renewable energy sectors,” explains Richard Benzie, IMCA’s Technical Director. “It will cover both the global risk to people, and the internal cyber security threat. Delegates will be able to learn and share ideas, solutions, and options in the current and future threat-environment in the industry; and will be able to take part in a series of problem solving ‘challenge’ sessions.”
Nicolas Krmic of Subsea 7, and IMCA’s Security Workgroup Chairman, will host the event and direct the seminar agenda, which includes a presentation by Chris Trelawny, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Maritime Security and Facilitation, who will be considering the ‘IMO Security State of the Nation’. The morning will then be devoted to ‘Cyber Security – the company cyber resilience at risk from self-inflicted damage’; and the afternoon to ‘Global risk exposure: The changing face of employers’ duty of care’.
Leading experts involved
IMCA has engaged with leading experts in the industry on the risks for IMCA members and their personnel in the global market place, and the ‘human factor’ in cyber security and the seminar will be facilitated by representatives of Thomas Miller Speciality (Roger Lewis; and Robert Hodge), Special Contingency Risks (Richard Scurrell), Lloyds Register QA (Rob Acker), IT Governance (Alan Calder), and Alert 24 (Rob Taylor) who will be dealing with the security aspects. Tom Holmer, from the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) part of seafarers’ charity ISWAN will help to inform the seminar debate from the perspective of the seafarer.
“In planning the free-to-attend seminar we aim to inform delegates on dealing with corporate security risks in the offshore energy sectors through a mixture of short, thought provoking, topical presentations and energised group debate and experience-pooling to explore good practice and where value can be added,” explains Richard Benzie. “We have four objectives for the day:
- To provide better awareness of the current and future sources of security threat
- To inform delegates how these risks can be mitigated and contingency measures most effectively employed
- To enable the sharing of experiences and lessons learnt/identified
- To identify specific issues for IMCA members, and others, concerning duty of care for their employees.
“A fifth un-written objective is always to ensure plenty of networking opportunities. At this event we have time before the seminar begins, at lunchtime, and a chance to exchange findings at afternoon tea at the close of what we know will be an extremely stimulating day.”
Further information on the seminar and all aspects of IMCA’s work on behalf of around 1,000 member companies in over 60 countries is available from www.imca-int.com and events@imca-int.com (for event registration) and imca@imca-int.com. The association has LinkedIn and Facebook groups and its Twitter handle is @IMCAint
Journalists eager to attend the Seminar should contact Judith Patten @ JPPR – judithpatten@JPPR.uk.com
Background notes on the topics coming under the seminar ‘spotlight’:
- Global risk exposure to our people – considering the nature of risks for IMCA members and their personnel in the global market place. The recent terrorist attacks in seemingly safe locations such as Rouen, Nice, Brussels and Orlando have served to demonstrate that the security threats posed to marine contractor employees travelling on company business to known high risk areas are considerably higher than they were a few years ago.
Concurrently, while piracy and violent maritime crime has declined in some areas it has become more virulent in others. Dealing with the issues generated by the instability in the modern world is a real challenge, particularly for many IMCA members who are operating on an international basis.
The duty of care expected and required from employers has greatly increased and new considerations such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), are no longer just features of the battlefield, and are now having to be faced by employers whose personnel are victims of kidnapping and witnesses to violent criminal acts. Companies now have to provide a level of duty of care that has not been seen before. What are the issues and how do we deal with them?
- The internal cyber security threat – the ‘Human Factor’ in cyber security. It is becoming widely accepted that the biggest cyber risk posed to companies comes from their own employees both senior managers, who may not understand or recognise there is a cyber security risk, but also the juniors coming into companies who have hitherto unfettered access to 24/7 internet connectivity and have little sense of cyber ‘tidiness’.
Is it an over-exaggerated risk or simply not understood? What measures can be taken in tight financial circumstances? How do companies prepare for the implementation of greater IT and data protection regulations?
