Transport Security Expo, 2-3 December 2015 / London

According to a recent report from NYA International, at least 53 seafarers have already been taken hostage this year in piracy attacks off the coast of West Africa; conflicts in North Africa have spilled into the Mediterranean with a guided missile attack on an Egyptian Coastguard vessel and state-sponsored actions against merchant shipping; and criminal boarding or 'armed robbery against ships' remains a serious risk facing mariners and their ships in Southern and Southeast Asia. By offering access to many of the leading suppliers within the maritime security sector as well as the opportunity to attend expert-led conference presentations and live demonstrations, Transport Security Expo has been designed to help meet the needs of all those security professionals trying to deal with the complexity and the diversity of the problems facing the maritime industry. Just how complex and diverse those needs are is illustrated by the comments of some of those who will be participating in the Expo. As Steven Roberts, Managing Director of Regal Maritime Solutions said in a recent interview: “Generally our clients are as diverse as the areas that we operate in. Our largest clients are commercial ship owners, charterers, managers and in some cases, insurers. However the company does have a developing client base with cruise ship operators, pleasure vessels and fishing fleets. We also deploy teams to protect offshore oil & gas platforms. In addition we provide security for vessels that are moored in a port for a prolonged period of time in a wide variety of situations.” In the words of Dr Hugo Rosemont of the Centre for Defence Studies, King’s College London, who will be giving a presentation in the Expo’s Future Border Briefing Theatre: “There is a complex interplay between the physical measures you get at the ports themselves, the work of the border officials, often supported by private sector security companies, and some of the IT systems and supporting technologies that come off the back of that, such as the systems in place to cross-check data against watch lists. Sea ports are potentially as significant as airports in this respect.”