The security market may not make the news as often as in recent years, but it still is a market. Security company MDF has branched out to offer solutions to cruise companies of any size
When MDF chief Orel Federman last talked to HANSA, it was still all about the piracy threat and the deployment[ds_preview] of armed guards in Africa and Asia. Now he has teamed up with cruise industry veteran Hans Rood to cater to the special needs of the cruise industry with MDF Cruises.
»The main idea is to give any cruise ship, regardless of size, itinerary, size of the company – it can be Carnival as well as a one ship river cruise enterprise – the same level of security. We provide everything from procedures, policies, risk assessment, mitigation, due diligence to cyber security, recruitment, training etc. from one central place. Having the high standards of the biggest cruise lines is now available to anyone,« he says.
Today, only the big companies have the budget to invest many millions for a comprehensive security structure. »But to a guest the size of the company doesn’t matter, when it comes to his personal security. We give this level of security without investing so much. You don’t have to own a Ferrari, you can lease it,« Federman says.
MDF has been there even before »9/11«, when security awareness went from zero to 100. Federman thought it would be a good idea to package all the experience gathered during the policy and procedure development at that time and »make it available for a reasonable budget«.
Every cruise company has their own security department covering risk mitigation, response, policies, risk assessment for every destination, port and terminal. The big companies recruited ex FBI people and keep investing millions of dollars. »A small company can hardly hire those people for a 24/7 job. But we can do it and sell it to hundreds of ships at 20% the price of a full-time employee. We make the sharing of information, procedures and standards available. This is already common in safety and if it’s good for safety, why shouldn’t it be good for security?« Federman asks.
In his view, security is not so much about guards on board but about the crewmembers: »These are your security people. Like safety is everybody’s business, we say that security is, too. Involve the crewmembers, make them and keep them aware and you have hundreds of people that are part of your security system.
According to statistics most security incidents on ships happen with crew new members – first ship, first contract. »You have to know what life on board is like, know the places you are going. Be aware of what could happen, take action and prevent it. You just need the awareness«, Federman says. And this – in most cases – has nothing to do with threats like terrorism. He gives an example: »70-80% of the incidents are related to sexual harassment. One case that made the news recently was a minor that was drinking, men bought her drinks took her to the cabin and abused her. She sued the cruise line and won. The judge said that the crewmembers – not security personnel, but bartenders, pool personnel etc. – should have seen it and done something.«
And even when it comes to terrorist attacks – certainly a threat for a ship full of Americans or Europeans – it doesn’t have to be a bomb or a shooting. Maybe a crewmember is responsible for the water supply and poisons it within minutes. Somebody might as well tamper with the fuel or the navigation system.
MDF also offers its service to the river cruise sector, which has its own specifics. »River vessels have between 120 and 240 passengers on board, while the river as a narrow waterway with limited places to dock has its own constraints,« says Hans Rood. The mix of smaller ships, destination orientation and mostly elderly passengers is a different dimension for security and safety aspects. »By nature, river cruising is of course super-safe – you are always close to safe places. That is a good thing. But being confined to a small ship and being focused on a destination adds certain elements that people need to be aware of.«
While ocean cruise vessels, just like cargo ships, have a security standard, the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS), river cruise vessels don’t, says Rood. »The good thing is, it is quite casual. The bad thing is, it is quite casual.« Many operators were tour operators before and have an awareness of security topics – but from the times of bus tours.
Federman adds: »The combination of technology and experience today makes us able to provide a solution that is not a hassle to everybody like airport security but keeps the security level as high as needed for the threat. If people in Amsterdam come on board, the threat is different there than in the middle of nowhere. Fit the solution to the need or you will create a mess.« According to him, a lot of money is unnecessarily spent on security technology. »Say that something happened on a ship, something exploded, somebody got raped etc. – now, what does the media say? Why didn’t you control access to the ship, why didn’t you train the crew to lock balcony doors when ships berth alongside? Why didn’t you do all these logical things? You don’t need to be the Pentagon to prevent many of those negative stories.«
