As a compliance officer for maritime security at Control Risks, which places armed personnel on ships, it is Jenny Maclean's job to know the rules and regulations that govern international waters and ports. Here, she talks about why there is no typical day in her job.
6.30am
I would love to say I get up early and go the gym but I'm not a morning person. I usually just get up and get ready.
Between 8am and 8.30am
I go through emails and do anything that requires quiet time. The main focus of the role is to ensure that we are compliant with various different authorities. We need to ensure that we are allowed to go in and out of [ports] with armed personnel on board our clients' vessels. Each vessel is licensed to a flag state, so they all have different stances on using armed personnel onboard their vessels.
9am
[I officially start]. I work very closely with the operations team. I will often plan my day and it will rapidly change. When operations change I have to take into consideration the effect this will have. We had a number of teams onboard vessels heading for the Yemeni port when the pipeline was blown up by terrorists. The port is actually an LNG terminal, so the terminal was closed and all the vessels diverted. In that case most of the vessels went to offshore points off Oman and further north, so they were still out of port limits.
Lunch
I usually grab something at my desk. It depends if we have any client meetings. If they say they have a transit across the Arabian Sea we need to discuss with them the options of where they can board the armed teams and where they can disembark them. Rules and regulations are often changing because it's a growing industry. A lot of authorities don't necessarily have specific rules and regulations in place. They are developing them as well. We need to keep on top of that.
1.30pm
By the afternoon London has usually come online. That's the time when if there are any queries from clients with regards to contracts, or if a transit is a little bit different to the model our insurance policies are built on, we will be in touch with our legal and insurance team in London, liaising with the underwriters in the UK to make sure we are still within the boundaries of our cover.
6pm
I try to get down to the driving range when I can. I claim to be a keen golfer but I talk too much to be a good golfer.
8pm
I go home and have dinner. The European offices are still online, so sometimes there will be the odd call in the evening to answer any questions that they have. The regulations and restrictions are so specific that it's something I might be able to answer very quickly, but other people won't have come across it.
10.30pm
I go to bed.
* Gillian Duncan
