TRAINING: MARITIME SECURITY
pmcimagazine.com
against pirates. They have also stress the understanding of the
intelligence situation in the endangered regions, as well as on
current international regulations governing activity of armed
security staff on ships. The E.S.A have also included some
elements of maritime law, and psychology.
Yet another topic-module in the course is learning the
specificity of a sea security worker. First of all, the trainees are
made sensitive to what dangers they might encounter on duty
(pirates’ “modus operandi”). Second of all, E.S.A analyse case
studies of attacks in the past, and they teach how to counter
them. ‘It is still before their setting their feet on board that
we introduce the candidate to the personal equipment with
which they will work on the ship, i.e. first aid kit, high-range
walkie-talkie, tactical vest and personal safety techniques. For
the candidate, we also pick their main and auxiliary arms (rifles
and pistols),’ says one of E.S.A.’s trainers. Then, the trainers
teach or hone the tactics of moving around the ship individually
and in pairs, and securing the ship.
experts from the British Special Boat Service, famous for its
actions in the water and at sea.
TO THE MAX!
To really get under the skin of what the E.S.A offer in relation
to the Maritime Security Operative training, safety during the
course and equipment, we talked to Tom Van Watermeulen, a
former officer of a Be lgian special unit, now an E.S.A. trainer for
Maritime Security Operative.
Tom, you are Belgian, have you ever heard of Maritime
Security Operative trainings in Poland?
No, I have not and I didn’t until I became a trainer for one!
Frankly speaking, the specifics of the training market in Poland
was not well-known to me, because, as you know, I come from
Belgium. Even if there is another school than the European
Security Academy which is able to cover the topic, I still doubt
it could make it properly, therefore it may be said it’s the first
training of this kind in Central Eastern Europe. We do not pay
attention to so-called “competition”.
Before stepping on board, the trainees also practice at a
shooting range. It is mostly there where they are trained in
long-distance shooting at moving targets, (i.e. on rails). “We
want the conditions to resemble those whilst at sea. In the
range training we use Kalashnikovs, M4 and G36” sums up Bryl.
The last element is training on board a ship in which the trainees
develop previously acquired skills. Here, special attention is
paid to the specificity of working on ship. The trainees learn
the tactics in narrow rooms and hallways and staircases, as
such spaces are most common on ships. The professional value
of the training provided by the European Security Academy is
proven by its training staff, which consists of former special
units officers and Maritime Security operators, with longstanding experience of preventing and countering sea terrorism
as members of state and civil structures.
The training programme was created in consultation with
12
Has the training been visited by many journalists? You
should not train people in hiding...
We have nothing to hide. Just the opposite, we want to show to
the public that such training, organised by a Polish company, is
attracting people from all over the world. It’s something to be
proud of. Am I right?