Our Company
IMSA Ltd is a high end specialist maritime security company with three areas of business: consultancy, operations and training. The company has just the one office in Poole from which these three areas are orchestrated, and the Poole office is constantly in touch with a large network of Associates around the UK and in Norway.
Three of IMSA Ltd’s four directors are former sea-going Royal Navy and Royal Marines people with more than 10 years each in commerce and the shipping and maritime security industries. They started the company in 2007 after working for another maritime security company in London. Whilst the company has worked in most of the world’s recent trouble spots, it has been particularly successful with extended projects in the Middle East and West Africa.
The company structure has intentionally been kept taut and simple to retain the ability to react quickly and personally to a client’s requirements and changes, but it has the necessary critical mass to be able to surge and expand rapidly in response to the larger project’s needs.
Our People
IMSA Ltd Associates are certificated ISPS Code instructors and surveyors, ship & small craft operators and captains, project managers and security operatives. All possess a wide range of associated commercial maritime & military qualifications and skills.
All our Associates have first-hand, in-depth knowledge of the shipping industry and the provision of maritime security. This knowledge comes in large part from skills learned in the UK Armed Forces and subsequently put into practice in commercial and military operations worldwide.
Typically, Associates have lengthy military service in some of the foremost MCT/Maritime Security organisations. Others have Police/Law Enforcement backgrounds. Once out of the Armed Services, their experiences have been in commercial vessels, cruise ships, super yachts and offshore installations. All are STCW- rated and carry Seaman’s Books.
IMSA Ltd offers expertise, skills, and comprehensive links and contacts across the maritime security industry. All this, combined with an affinity with the latest technology, helps clients arrive at cost-effective solutions to their maritime security needs, invariably improving their operational effectiveness at the same time.
IMSA Ltd’s people are truly multi-facetted and can turn their professionalism to most areas of maritime endeavour including:
- All aspects of ISPS Code implementation
- Maritime counter-terrorism
- Ship and port operations
- Risk and threat assessment
- Security for the Cruise and Mega/Super yacht industries
- Chemical, oil, gas and mineral exploitation on and offshore
- Cable laying / ROV Diving operations
- Anti-piracy
- Maritime Leisure Industry
- Seamanship and ship handling in the maritime security environment
- Project Management Coordination
- Close Protection
- Team leadership
Our Team
John Twiss
Chief Operations Officer and Lead Director
John Twiss is IMSA Ltd’s Chief Operations Officer and lead director. He is a security and risk consultant in the shipping industry, a small craft operations specialist, and has been involved in many aspects of security ashore and afloat, worlwide. In 2009, he was the start-up project manager for an offshore patrol and guarding task in the North Arabian Gulf, and advised the procurement, training and procedures for the operation’s protection. He has recent experience as a Team Leader for embarked Maritime Security Liaison Officers in merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and in autumn 2010 whilst leading an embarked team, successfully repelled an armed attack and boarding by pirates.
Formerly a Royal Marine where he was a small ship commander and landing craft specialist, John has several years’ operational time in UK Special Forces. On leaving the Corps, he attended business management and maritime security induction courses, and is a qualified TRANSEC and MCA maritime security trainer, ISPS Code assessor and plan approver. John has trained over 1500 personnel on PFSO/CSO/SSO courses.
Nick Williams
Chief Training Officer
Nick Williams is IMSA Chief Training Officer a role he took over in May 2010, in the past year Nick has delivered PFSO training in Yemen & Bahrain as well as public courses in the UK. Nick also undertakes Vessel security audits. He is a former Royal Marines SNCO with a wide operational background in sometimes challenging situations. He spent his last five years in the Corps as DNIO (Deputy Naval Intelligence Officer) for SNONI (Senior Naval Officer Northern Ireland). He was responsible for supervising the collection and dissemination of intelligence gathered in the three Royal Navy operations both in the coastal waters and inland Loughs of Northern Ireland.
His other roles included being responsible for the personal security of all RN, RM personnel and reserves both on leave and on duty. He was the intelligence liaison officer for SNONI and dealt with the Army, the RUC, mainland police forces, special branch units and the security services. Since leaving the Corps he has had a varied career including two years in Iraq working for a PSC as a senior team leader in charge of up eight expats and up to sixty former British Ghurkhas or Fijians providing security to personnel employed by a multi- national oil company. He spent time in the training department, and assisted with the planning and delivery of continuation training to both the security personnel and the clients. He delivered induction packages for all security personnel coming in country which included weapon training, company SOP’s and ground familiarisation.
Chris Ellison
Chairman, Chief of Staff and Business Developer
Chris Ellison is IMSA’s Chairman, chief of staff and business developer. In 2000, he became the first director of a new trade association for the international maritime industry- Maritime London – before focusing more closely on maritime security matters as the operations director for Maritime & Underwater Security Consultants. Prior to joining IMSA full time, he worked as project manager for shallow water submarine cable laying operations in the UK, Channel Islands, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Egypt. Mr Ellison left the Royal Navy as a One Star flag officer after 37 years service which included extensive sea command and Whitehall experience, was co-founder (with a British Army Brigadier) of the Nigerian National War College and the flotilla commander of 52 warships.
In this latter appointment, he was pivotally involved in providing 4 re-roled warships for an interdiction and patrolling task in Northern Ireland. He is educated to ‘A’ level in science subjects, and staff trained at Greenwich and Bracknell, the RAF staff college. On leaving the Navy, he undertook business management and maritime security induction courses and became a qualified TRANSEC maritime security trainer, ISPS Code assessor and plan approver. Whilst in Nigeria with MUSC, amongst other work for PICOMSS he had some exposure to the Maritime Domain Awareness Project. He lectures widely, most recently to an international LNG conference in Doha on the challenges of ensuring LNG transportation’s security.