Friday, April 27, 2012

ISSG Moving Ahead in International Leadership


There are generally three kinds of people in the world. There are those that do—and by risking greatly may either succeed or fail. There are those that watch those that do—and may contribute through their comments but who never have the satisfaction of having achieved great goals. And there are those that wish that they did—the tragic that saw opportunities and failed to summon the courage to take the risks necessary to seize opportunity. The same holds true for corporations.
The ISSG Group of Companies is an entity that began with a vision to achieve great things and then strove to achieve that vision. While most are familiar with the maritime security efforts that have protected merchant shipping for over four years, the ISSG Group of Companies actually consists of eight companies with ten offices spread around the world. As we enter our next phase of operations and undertake the next great vision with partners in the Middle East, it is important that people have the opportunity to see beyond the public image and are introduced to the less public entities within the overall network.

ISSG-USA serves to provide a point of contact in our efforts to ensure proper coordination with government and NGO organizations in projects in the area of international support for humanitarian aid and assistance. This corporate liaison company is based in Delaware, USA.

ISSG – Egypt provides a consistent and capable liaison for the purpose of transiting the Suez Canal. It is also positioned and prepared to undertake roles for the future use of the International Airport at Port Said, one of the major staging points for relief efforts across the North of Africa.

ISSG – Philippines focuses on maritime consultancy, including ship management and crewing operations. Based in our Manila office and supported with MOU’s with Progressive Shipping of Manila for crewing, this office supports our vessels involved in humanitarian operations and other merchant vessels.

ISSG – India has been the most public face of the company, largely through our efforts in the realm of vessel protection. It is the main maritime security component of the ISSG Group of Companies and, through our partnership with Jai Malanath Security of India; the ISSG Group of Companies is able to provide highly-capable former MARCOS personnel for the shipping industry at competitive cost.

ISSG – Maldives provides an entity ideally located to support flight and sea operations throughout Asia, the East of Africa and or humanitarian operations that need to bring supplies from East Asia. This center is established to be able to provide both flight and sea operations support.

ISSG-Comoros was originally established in support of maritime security operations and port services. It has been repositioned on the mainland of Africa for the support of flight and sea operations, largely associated with humanitarian aid.

ISSG-Seychelles is currently undergoing its third phase and transformation to an international, operational NGO. Focussing specifically on the logistical and transportation support (by air or sea) across the operational humanitarian community, this entity has been established to provide key support to agencies like the WFP, International Red Cross, International Red Crescent Society, UNICEF and others. By maintaining a clear and concise focus on the movement of critical supplies to operational relief missions, this NGO will establish itself as an effective and efficient means of ensuring that needed at gets to its destination on time and in good condition.
As we enter the third phase of operations, many of these efforts will become more apparent. In the near future, we will be releasing information that will describe how those companies who have already dared greatly to assist the disadvantaged—and those that are daring greatly in setting up to do so—will be able to benefit from these services and the outcomes of a series of projects that will be of unprecedented scale.

Friday, April 20, 2012

IAMSP-ASIS-ICOC

As Reported HERE , The IAMSP has significantly assisted in the standards with the lead voice from the Maritime Security sector.

"IAMSP congratulates ASIS International on the acceptance of the PSC.1 Standard for the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers into the ANSI system of standards. This achievement was a truly remarkable effort under the coordination of Dr Marc Siegel of ASIS International's standards development body that brought together representatives of foreign governments, the private sector, and non-government organizations. IAMSP, through the efforts of Allan McDougall, participated as the clearest voice representing issues and challenges within the maritime security domain, the largest group of signatories to the ICoC. This participation is representative of IAMSP's concrete efforts and volunteerism on behalf of the maritime security industry, something that continues to be vital as these efforts (and others) move forward.

IAMSP recently put forward comments regarding the ICoC Charter, expressing significant concerns over its structure and a number of specific measures. As an Association, we continue to be committed to the intent of the ICoC and will continue to support the ASIS International efforts in the development of those standards supporting the Code. Our primary focus will continue to be ensuring that the intent of the ICoC to weave respect for human rights and similar considerations into the business practices within the private security domain remains in the forefront of the Code and its integration into the maritime security domain.

We will continue our efforts in representing the industry through all phases of these efforts, working collaboratively with the various groups and interests involved to ensure that our members, and the maritime security industry in general, is given appropriate voice in these important efforts. While we continue to represent various trades and crafts within the maritime security domain, this effort, and others like it, demonstrate our commitment to operate in a leadership role with other credible associations to the betterment of the industry as a whole.

Again, our congratulations to all the representatives that participated in the development of this standard and who have been active in subsequent efforts and particularly ASIS International for providing the leadership and technical means of moving this important effort forward.
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Congratulations and a job well done.