Vintage Port

The City of Liverpool is renowned the length and breadth of the country for these and many other icons, whose collective impression on the public conscious must – at least in part – have had something to do with Scouseland recently being named as our European City of Culture.

One of the greatest thrills for any visitor to this fantastic and vibrant north west enclave must surely be a ferry ride across the Mersey – immortalised in classic fashion by the aforementioned Mr Marsden.

As most Security Management Today (SMT) readers will know, Liverpool is very much a city that was founded on Maritime traditions, so why shouldn't the Councillors make a play of that proud heritage by redeveloping once rundown areas like the Albert Docks? That said, there's far more to the Port of Liverpool than a nostalgia-packed Beatles Museum and rows of neatly stocked gift shops might suggest.

Having ridden out the dark, recession-laden days of the late 1980s, the Port is now one of the UK's major gateways for North Atlantic, Irish Sea, Mediterranean and Iberian peninsula container trade (only recently adding the Far East to the areas which it serves). Proof of that fact can be seen in that the Port of Liverpool currently handles in excess of 30 million tonnes of cargo every year. That's impressive.

We're not just talking about pure cargo transportation, either. The Twelve Quays River Terminal for Irish Sea roll-on roll-off ferries – a £25 million development in Birkenhead – has been serving haulage customers and day trippers superbly well. Although the downturn in Southern Ireland's economy coupled with intense competition in the cross-Channel trades has created uncertainty over the future of NoseMerchant Ferries (the major operator using the Birkenhead facility, whose parent company Cenargo was placed into administrative receivership earlier this year), the strategic importance of the Twelve Quays Terminal is soon to be bolstered by a re-structuring at the ferry operator's hq.

In addition, a £10 million proposal is being tabled by the Liverpool City Council to extend the Liverpool Landing Stage, thus enabling cruise ships to berth at the world famous Pier Head alongside the well-established fast craft services to Dublin and Douglas on the Isle of Man. Plans are also on the drawing board for a new car marshalling terminal to serve the SuperSeaCat service.

Though still a comparatively small part of the Port of Liverpool's trading facilities, the export and import of top-of-the-range motor cars has also witnessed significant growth of late. Jaguar, for example, has begun to make weekly shipments of its new X-Type 'BabyJags' to north America via Seaforth Docks, while YA Logistics has started regular and substantial volume imports of cars from Japan, the Far East and the Mediterranean.

Such success stories would not have been possible without astute management. For that, the City has to thank the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), the second largest port group in UK plc (encompassing the Ports of Liverpool and Heysham on the west coast and the Medway Ports at Sheerness and Chatham in the south east) which has pumped in close to £100 million worth of investment money along the banks of the Mersey in the past five years alone.

In the containers sector, a whopping £25 million has been spent on honing Liverpool's Seaforth Terminal – the UK's largest grain import facility – into an operation hailed by users as the best of its kind in the country, with cargo ships regularly turned around in less than 12 hours and road haulage delivering and collecting boxes dealt with in an average of 30 minutes. Here, MDHC's financial commitment has encompassed a 30% expansion of the container stacking area, the creation of a Logistics Centre for all lines using the terminal, a multi-lane gatehouse and a 25-bay interchange area. The entire Container Terminal operation is controlled by state-of-the-art computer management systems.

Elsewhere in the Port of Liverpool, investment by MDHC and other companies is also beginning to attract additional sea traffic – be it at the Gladstone Steel Terminal, the Gladstone Bulk Terminal (where coal imports now top the two million tonnes per annum threshold) or the recycled materials operations of firms like Nortons, who've invested close to £15 million in new processing plants.

Securing the Port of Liverpool
The Port of Liverpool is truly a success story for international trade on a massive scale. One built on the MDHC's astute long-term policy of maintaining and developing the most diverse range of traffics to be handled by any UK port which duly provides adequate cover against the vagaries of any given trade. Over £6 billion worth of goods are handled for firms from no less than 80 different companies.

Of course, wherever there's high value goods there's a continual risk of criminals rearing their ugly heads, and the Port of Liverpool is no exception to that rule.

By the nature of its business the Port can also be a dangerous place which demands careful management to secure the safe and secure movement of lorries, heavy plant, trains and cars. Securing gates and perimeters, crime prevention and detection, traffic management and nuisance management are all key service areas upon which the local authorities must focus at all times.

The task of securing the Port on behalf of the MDHC falls to the Port of Liverpool Police, who focus on high visibility patrolling, investigation and evidence gathering, advising on all forms of crime prevention, monitoring road and rail movements and using the latest technologies – including, as you'd expect, a heavy reliance on CCTV – in their bid to detect and prevent theft.

In what is something of a unique partnership, forward-thinking Port of Liverpool Police chief officer Ray Walker has also engaged the services of Prescot-based private sector security company UK Nationwide Security Services to help them in their quest.

Walker – former head of Merseyside CID and Liverpool's most senior detective prior to his leaving the Metropolitan County Force in 1997 to begin his current post – takes up the story.

"In essence, what we've done is anticipated Home Secretary David Blunkett's views concerning the wider police family," he states. "There seemed little point in waiting around. With something like 10-12,000 people passing through the Port each day, the ongoing possibility of container theft, acts of terrorism and people trying to stowaway, we need as many eyes and ears on the ground as possible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. That's where UK Nationwide is really helping us."

UK Nationwide provides a comprehensive manned presence not only in support of the Port of Liverpool Police but also for many other clients in and around the Port area (including container service operator Atlantic Container Line, P&O Irish Sea Ferries and car giant Vauxhall). Those services vary from manning restricted zones in accordance with the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990, securing bonded warehouses, protecting certain vessels and guarding high value cargo.

Interestingly, the contractor also provides Front of House staff for the newly-operational Criminal Records Bureau hq which sits on the waterfront as part of the MDHC's prestigious Princes Dock development.

The regulatory context
Before discussing the Port of Liverpool's security any further, it's important to set what's being achieved along the banks of the Mersey within a regulatory context.

Eagle-eyed SMT readers will remember that, early last year, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) suggested the introduction of new regulations regarding the security of ports and ships ('IMO set to rethink ship security', News Update, SMT, April 2002, p13). Those regulations, which are now enforced ('IMO devises rules to tighten maritime security', News Update, SMT, December 2002, p9), are designed to reduce the risk of terrorist acts at what are, after all, areas of tremendous national importance.

Something approaching 50,000,000 people travel by ferry every year, while 95% of all the UK's exports and imports move through our ports. These statistics are compounded by the fact that the expanding cruise industry brings an increasing number and variety of foreign ships and visitors to our shores all the while.

Lockerbie first presented the aviation world with a massive wake-up call. Despite subsequent actions by the International Civil Aviation Authority, September 11 still occurred. As such, what is best described as asymmetric warfare has become a reality, with US officials very concerned about the possibility of 'dirty' bombs aboard ships bound for their shores.

"The problem for us is that the legislation we are being asked to work towards is not yet clear, and seems to be changing almost on a weekly basis," suggests Ian McGowan, UK Nationwide Security Services' director of business development, a former Royal Marine of 20 years' standing and a specialist in maritime counter-terrorism. "As part of the United Nations, the IMO has been driven by US concerns post-September 11. As a signatory, we must comply with the IMO's regulations."

Those US concerns have extended to ports, and all forms of containerised shipping. Government mandarins Stateside have introduced both the Container Security Initiative and Operation Safe Commerce ('EC deals with US on high risk cargo', News Update, SMT, March 2003, p8). US law now states that containers must be checked and screened and cargo details logged well before a vessel is destined to sail to America. "If that's not the case then the container would be refused loading," adds McGowan.

"If there's any suspect container on board the vessel it could not be allowed to dock in America. Given that 94% of the UK's exports go out by ship the commercial implications of this can be massive if a vessel is turned away. Already, US Customs officers are operating in this country to make sure of full compliance with American laws and guidelines laid down by the newly-formed US Department of Homeland Security."

That's not all. Agencies in the UK have taken their lead from the US, with the Government itself setting up Transec as a branch of the Department of Transport tasked with policing the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990. Now, the Department has decided that Transec should also oversee the demands of the International Port Facilities Security Code. Questionnaires were sent out to all the major UK ports around three months ago to ascertain degrees of activity at each one in terms of cargo levels and traffic. "There's a good deal of re-inventing of the wheel going on at the moment, and a degree of non-joined-up thinking," continues McGowan, who used to run Group 4's commercial banking division before becoming the in-house director of European security at Security Pacific Bank. "We have identified a complex string of issues and forthcoming regulations which require clarification in order that we can work positively and quickly towards a common goal."

McGowan continues: "At the moment, we have a situation where the head of MI5 – Eliza Manningham-Buller – is telling UK citizens there's "every chance" of a dirty bomb in Europe, perhaps even a biological, chemical or even nuclear attack. If that is indeed the case, let's stop messing around and all work to the same code of conduct."

A need for additional measures
To muddy the commercial waters still further, EU mandarins have now decided that the IMO Regulations to which the UK is a signatory are not tight enough. As stated, if European ports don't adhere to US laws then they cannot export goods to the States.

"The question is who's going to pay for all the additional security that's needed," opines McGowan. "The ports will have to levy a container fee to help cover the cost of tighter security. That levy, which could be charged at anything between £7 and £14 per container, will be passed on to the shipping companies. The costs are going to be quite significant."

According to Ray Walker, the key to UK Nationwide Security Services' involvement in securing the Port of Liverpool is training. Walker and McGowan, along with UK Nationwide's management team, are doing their best to embrace all of the current legislation such that they don't miss a trick.

Necessarily, this means that security officers tasked with guarding the Port must be trained in a wide variety of skills, taking in maritime and port security measures, conflict resolution/management, Health and Safety, crime prevention and data handling (CCTV), the Human Rights Act 1998, investigative interviewing, accident investigation and reporting, leadership skills (for supervisors) and drug and alcohol policy management.

The interesting thing about what's happening in Liverpool – and a perfect embodiment of a commitment to partnering between public and private sectors – is that the Port of Liverpool Police uses its own SITO-accredited trainers to skill the UK Nationwide officers on each topic. "That way, our clients and the police themselves can be sure that we're placing properly trained and competent officers on site. Officers who know what to do, and what's expected of them," says Ian McGowan. "On top of that, we also conduct site visits at different times, some of them in the early hours of the morning, to make sure that our officers are operating to the letter of the law," adds UK Nationwide's general manager and director Christina Wilkinson.

For his part, Ray Walker is adamant that this is the way forward. "The management team at UK Nationwide works very closely with my own team," he comments. "By training the security officers we're getting the product that we really want. There's a strong bond between not only the Port Police and the MDHC, but also between ourselves and our chosen security company. That's crucial to the success of the entire operation. We have a security workforce that fully understands the idiosyncracies of port security and their policing."

Clearly, in Walker's eyes good training builds confidences and fosters shared aims.

Walker likens the busy port areas of Liverpool and Birkenhead to any other identifiable community. "We try to police the Port like any Home Office force would a local community," adds Walker. "UK Nationwide's officers know that if they have a problem they can call and we'll be there in a matter of minutes". Its obviously a tactic that's working, and working well. In the past four years, crime in the Port of Liverpool has been reduced by 30% (UK Nationwide's involvement beginning back in 2001 when the company was formed to take on the existing contract run by Exemplo Ducemus). "People's perception of the Port of Liverpool is that it leaks like a sieve," states Walker, "but that's certainly not the case."

That perception had been gained due to the fact that – aside from other variables – up until 1999 there had been a real problem with stowaways. Primarily Kosovans who wanted to reach the Promised Land across the Atlantic.

"Representatives from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police came over and we planned out a programme of action," comments Walker. "Since then, not one person has slipped through the net. Working hand-in-hand with the Merseyside Police and UK Nationwide has been the key. That part of our security regime alone is proof-positive of what can be achieved with a little effort and understanding."

The Port of Liverpool Police's success in dealing with the stowaways problem has been helped by UK Nationwide's deployment of its Security Dog Team, headed up by John Fletcher. Members of the team are all either ex-Police, Her Majesty's Forces or Prison Service-trained handlers qualified to National Association of Security Dog Users (NASDU) NVQ standards, and provide 24-hour guarding at the Port of Liverpool. Weekly continuation training that's tested each month by a qualified Home Office and NASDU-approved trainer ensures the quality control of both dogs and handlers.

Building in proportionality
Walker's own thinking on the current maritime regulatory regime is very much in line with that of Ian McGowan. "The Department of Transport and IMO deserve praise for what they've done since September 11, but there's going to be a very steep learning curve for some," he believes. "With containerisation increasing the opportunity for 'dirty' bombs, the security authorities will need to get to grips with how they check boxes. And fast."

The real key to this, feels Walker, is proportionality. By their very nature ports are open on both their seaward and inland sides. Security provisions must not be so strong that they damage trade by rendering businesses uncompetitive, but that must be balanced against a security culture among many in the commercial world whereby they believe theft and general breaches will 'never happen to them'. "It's definitely the case that sometimes we're scared to challenge," adds Walker. "That has to change. This is why we're training the UK Nationwide officers to spot threats. It's a proactive rather than reactive approach."

A refreshing change from much of the security provision in UK plc, and a working blueprint for productive two-way communication between police and contractor.

The partnership was enhanced still further last Christmas when a local crime prevention campaign – entitled 'Walk The Talk' – saw dedicated patrols of uniformed Port of Liverpool Police officers accompanied by UK Nationwide dog handlers in and around the Port area.

Making use of systems technology
Working with systems designer/installer Technology Solutions, Walker's team has specified and procured a host of security systems – most notably blanket CCTV coverage courtesy of plettac cameras monitored from the central police Control Room.

Ray Walker is quick to point out that where a new business is developed or changes are carried out to an existing one, the Port Police are willing – and would prefer – to be involved from the outset when it comes to advising on (and recommending) security policy.

By way of comprehensive policing policies and speedy response to the many differing demands of the Port community, Walker and his dedicated officers are playing their part in contributing towards a climate of reassurance and confidence.

A business climate which is clearly acting as the very foundation of commercial success in the vintage Port of Liverpool.