If your private security company is planning to provide armed security for merchant ships registered in the Netherlands sailing the Gulf of Aden risk area you need a Private Maritime Security Company (PMSC) licence from the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT).
If you are a ship owner and want to employ security personnel for merchant ships registered in the Netherlands sailing the Gulf of Aden you must request permission from the Netherlands Coastguard for each voyage.
Before you apply for a PMSC licence
Please read this web page carefully before applying for a PMSC licence.
PMSC activities under this licence are restricted to the risk area as defined in Article 1.2 of Besluit bescherming koopvaardij (Merchant Shipping Protection Decree, in Dutch) and drawn on the map in the annex of this decree.
To complete the application, you must have either your head office in the European Union (EU) or the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), or a branch office in the Netherlands. If neither requirement is met, you cannot apply.
A full application will cost €17,220. This fee consists of €7,220 for stage 1 of the process and €10,000 for stages 2 and 3 combined. You may need to make additional expenditures in order to meet all requirements.
It takes 8 weeks to process your application. The ILT may extend this period by 12 weeks under conditions.
How to apply for a PMSC licence
In the first part of the application form, you need to enter your company details and upload the following attachments:
- ISO 9001:2015 certicifate: Quality management systems – requirements (valid for at least 6 months)
- ISO 28000:2007 certificate: Specification for security management systems for the supply chain (valid for at least 6 months)
- ISO 28007:2015 certificate: Guidelines for Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSC) (valid for at least 6 months)
- Certificate of incorporation (not older than 6 months)
- Proof of ownership (ultimate beneficial owner, UBO)
- Criminal record certificate for each management team member
- Audit certificate
- Maritime anti-piracy certificate from country of domicile (if held)
- Retainer agreement drafted by a legal adviser
- Insurance certificates
- Certificate of membership of professional organisations such as ICoCA, SCEG (if available)
- Overview of key suppliers of equipment such as Vessel-Based Armories (VBAs)
- At least 3 recent client testimonials
- Organisational structure overview
- Top management’s job descriptions
- A certificate or letter of good standing from the Chamber of Commerce where your company is established
- A certificate or letter of good standing from your bank
- UK Open General Trade Control Licence (OGTCL) for overseas territories (if applicable)
Please note: You can upload the following file types as attachments with this application: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .odt, .txt, .png, .jpg, .tiff, .gif, .xls, .xlsx, .ods, and .csv.
File names may only contain letters (A-Z, a-z), numbers (0-9), underscore (_), hyphen , space ( ), and full stop (.).
The ILT will email you a confirmation of receipt and get back to you if you need to share any other details.
If the ILT has approved stage 1 of your application, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to continue your application. You will need to provide and upload follow-up information regarding your:
- Quality policy
- Ethics policy
- Health and safety policy (including temporary protocols such as regarding Covid-19)
- Security and risk management policy
- Recruitment and training policy
- Arms policy (including storage, maintenance and disposal)
- Key suppliers due diligence
- Quality assurance process
- Document control process
- Continuous improvement process
- Management review process
- Internal auditing process
- Incident reporting and investigation process
- Crisis management plan
- Root cause analysis procedure
- Voyage procedures / instructions for PCASP
- Internal/external communications (including embarkation and disembarkation forms for PCASP)
- Complaints procedure
- Whistleblowing procedure
- Rules for the use of force
- Emergency response plan
- Human resources management
- Recruitment standards
- Recruitment directive to manning agencies (if applicable)
- Initial training procedure (course syllabus/training directive to training agency)
- Team Leader (TL) promotion policy
- TL training procedure
- Team Member (TM), TL and Team Medic annual refresher training matrix
- Sighting
- Procedures and policies for equipment and materials maintenance
- Firearms licences or End User Certificates (EUCs)
Please note: You can upload the following file types as attachments with this application: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .odt, .txt, .png, .jpg, .tiff, .gif, .xls, .xlsx, .ods, and .csv.
File names may only contain letters (A-Z, a-z), numbers (0-9), underscore (_), hyphen , space ( ), and full stop (.).
The ILT will get back to you if you need to share any other details.
It is recommended that you brief your Private Company Armed Security Personnel (PCASP) on the flag-specific procedures during stage 2. This way, the ILT can grant the permit immediately after stage 3 so you can deploy right away.
If the ILT has approved stages 1 and 2 of your application, you will be contacted for an appointment for a company audit at your business premises. This is to check how your company performs in comparison to the documentation you provided earlier.
Renewing your PMSC licence
A PMSC licence is valid for 3 years and needs to be renewed before the expiry date. To renew your PMSC licence, you repeat the application process. Renewal costs €14,190.
Application, renewal, and amendment form
You start the application, enter stage 2, renew your licence, or request for amendment using the PMSC licence application form.
Currently licenced PMSCs
The following PMSCs are currently licenced:
More information
Please email the ILT at wtbk@ilent.nl with any questions.