Dryad Maritime: Standardisation Of The Maritime Intelligence Industry Needed Now

As it relaunches to mark its 10 year anniversary Dryad Maritime is today, Wednesday 13th September, calling on the maritime industry to develop a Standardisation Agreement (STANAG) setting minimum standards for the production of intelligence.

The threat is changing. Ship owners and operators no longer simply face a sporadic pirate threat in the Indian Ocean but are routinely deploying armed security teams to counter the threat of Water Bourne IED in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. Without up to-date practical research and development supported by the expert collation of intelligence the industry will be blindsided by asymmetric threats at sea.

Maritime Intelligence — Image for representation purpose only

Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, Chief Executive Officer, Dryad Maritime:

“Intelligence is usually bought either for situational awareness or as the background upon which a risk assessment is conducted. All too frequently, ‘intelligence’ is restricted to a list or narrative of geopolitical events. However, the scope of intelligence is much wider than this. Intelligence should look at the events in the context of the capabilities and limitations of the threat to provide the reader with an understanding of the meaning of events and predictions about the most likely outcomes. Without this methodology or understanding of the threat, intelligence is impotent and the risk assessment is based on incomplete information”.

The STANAG proposed by Dryad Maritime will be used by the consumer to form the basis of a due diligence check. The standard will be complied on a voluntary basis by companies producing intelligence, risk assessments and tracking products and services.

The STANAG will be based on:

Source Management – Minimum numbers of sources scored on credibility and reliability.
Latency – Standardised intelligence compilation process to prevent use of stale data in risk assessments.
Qualification- Competence framework to accredit intelligence analysts and those responsible for authorising risk assessment.

Currently, intelligence providers can use the least reliable information and use wholly unqualified analysts. Commercial intelligence providers are unregulated and there are no industry standards or due diligence checks in place. Dryad Maritime is leading the way by establishing industry standards and urges the sector to align so as to provide assured quality.