Tundra Maritime Defense Services (MDS), the maritime division of Tundra Group, announced that it has been awarded full certification and accreditation for the recently issued ISO 28007-1:2015 (Guidelines for Private Maritime Security Companies), following an audit conducted by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA).
ISO 28007-1:2015 gives established guidelines to private maritime security companies (PMSC) that supply privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) on board ships and the compliance requirements are much more stringent than those required by the ‘old’ ISO/PAS 28007. Certification to the new 28007-1:2015 Standard demonstrates to the international community that Tundra MDS can legally, safely and effectively guard seafarers, their vessels and cargo.
The importance of PMSC’s possessing the new ISO 28007-1:2015 Standard was highlighted very recently, when the Marshall Islands (MI) Maritime Administrator issued an update to their circular regarding the Use of Armed Security on MI-Flagged vessels. Within the revision they state:
“Effective January 1, 2016, companies shall engage only those PMSCs that are certified to at least the ISO PAS 28007:2012 standard by a United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) authorized certification body. Those PMSCs becoming certified after January 1, 2016 and those renewing certification must comply with the ISO 28007-1:2015 standard.”