German Legislation Regarding PMSCs: The Accreditation Process Is Not Yet Clear
By Dimitrios Angelopoulos
Special to Piracy Daily
On April 8-9, the 8th German Maritime Conference was held in Kiel, Germany, organized by the Federal Ministry for the Economy and Technology (BMWi). With more than 800 participants, the conference takes place every two years and is the key event of the German maritime industry. In this instance, its deliberations were key as well to foreign Private Maritime Security Companies like AdvanFort, one of the most important PMSCs providing such services worldwide.
For the first time since 2009, the Conference included a Workshop on Piracy and Maritime Security, which was coordinated by Hugo Gaedechans, an important member of the German Parliament (Bundestag). In an interview in MarineLog this April, the president of the German Ship-owners Association (VDMA), Michael Behrendt, underscored the priorities of the German shipping companies for this conference.
Together with taxation, financing issues and the competitiveness of the German flag administration, Mr. Behrendt highlighted the Association's interest in the regulations issued by the German Government regarding the deployment of private security teams on board German-flagged ships. The German ship-owners do not want these special regulations to prevent market access by foreign PMSCs.
Germany has become the latest Flag State to implement a new PMSC licensing structure for ships flying its flag. In April 2013 the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology presented the Regulation on licensing of security companies on sea (17/13308). Despite these official documents (still available only in the German language), several crucial points in the accreditation procedures remain unclear, especially for foreign companies that do not deploy German armed guards.
The issues that need further clarification can be summarized as follows:
Armed Guards' Training Standards
The new regulations foresee specific basic training in the following areas:
a. Principles of German public, civil, criminal and maritime law
b. German regulation for self-protection of ships against external dangers
c. STCW provisions (for the above requirements the candidate companies must demonstrate evidence of no less than 24 hours training for their armed guards)
d. Crisis handling and de-escalating procedures (no less than 8 hours training)
e. Basic seamanship knowledge (no less than 12 hours training)
f. Technical knowledge on ships and their equipment (no less than 6 hours training)
g. Use and handling of weapons (no less than 18 hours training)
h. Weapons law and foreign trade law of Germany and of the relevant harbor and coastal states (no less than 6 hours training)
i. Knowledge of threats and of the military operations in the deployment areas (not less than 11 hours of training)
j. Knowledge of relevant IMO guidance and procedures, including Best Management Practices (not less than 8 hours of training)
k. Knowledge of the English language, especially in terminology related with shipping activities, ships' equipment, and military / anti-piracy operations
PMSCs, especially the foreign ones, do not yet know how to organize these specific training requirements for their personnel; what the acceptable training certifications from the German authorities are, and which are the relevant certified training courses available in the international market.
Foreign Accreditation
The German law / regulations foresee that companies, which have already been accredited by other EU member states, will be entitled to receive German accreditation, following a comparison check with the German requirements. Since the German law is so far stricter and more demanding than other European laws of similar purposes, it remains unclear how the German Authorities (BAFA) will proceed with this compatibility / comparability procedure. So far, many qualified PMSCs have gained accreditation by states like Greece, Cyprus or Malta.
Time Frame
The deadline of the accreditation procedure is the December 1st 2013. After this date, only licensed PMSCs will be able to provide security services on board German flagged vessels. The above-mentioned problems make it rather difficult for most companies to acquire all needed certifications and documentation. Moreover, it is estimated that most interested foreign companies will seek the assistance/consultancy of specialized German Law firms, in order to deal with all the "obstacles" of the German legislation, the translation of all documentation into the German language and the training in German law issues (whenever this requirement will be further clarified).
According to the 2012 Review of Maritime Transport, issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, German ship owners own 422 ships flying the national flag, while the German-owned fleet is the third-biggest merchant fleet worldwide.
The challenge remains large for PMSCs seeking to penetrate this demanding and prestigious market. Moreover, according to specialist lawyer M. Karschau, the German accreditation process could be used by companies such as ours as a strong marketing tool, as proof of their recognized quality and excellence.
Dimitrios Angelopoulos, MBA, a retired Submarine Commander of the Hellenic Navy, is the Senior Business Development Manager at AdvanFort Company.