As part of its core activities, the Association assists members through coordinating peer reviews and other forms of validation that can be used by its members to demonstrate competence in the maritime security domain or a level of quality in their goods or services. This falls under the broad category of endorsement.
The concept of endorsement is intended to give a level of comfort to those seeking goods or services, but does not express nor intend to convey that those seeking services are absolved of their own need to conduct due diligence. While the Association takes all reasonable steps to assure the quality of the offerings, it is up to the potential client to conduct their own checks taking into account their own unique operational and organizational needs.
At this point in time, the Association focuses on the following activities:
- The certification of persons through the Certified Maritime Security Professional — intended as a baseline certification that applies across the majority of environments; and
- The vetting of training, particularly training that focuses on higher-threat / hostile environments where individuals must possess unique or specialized skills in additional to those held by certified members.