• Environmental Security

Rupert Herbert-Burns is a leading maritime security expert and consultant for shipping, security, offshore energy, and analytic organizations in the UK, US, and Europe. He is routinely engaged in providing ISPS Code consultation and at-sea security risk surveys for vessels and offshore operations in many areas, including the Gulf of Aden/Horn of Africa, West Africa, the Persian Gulf, and Southeast Asia. Operational work also includes the provision of security training and deployment preparation for vessels working in high piracy and armed robbery threat waters. In this capacity, Herbert-Burns works with embarked vessel security teams protecting ships transiting through high threat waters in the Indian Ocean.

Previously, while based in Washington, DC and London as director of intelligence at the Maritime Intelligence Group (Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit), Herbert-Burns worked on maritime security threat and supply-chain security projects with branches of the US Government, US Navy, New York Police Department, UK Metropolitan Police (Marine Support Unit), Transport Canada, and NATO. As part of his work for Lloyd’s MIU, Herbert-Burns was one of the co-producers and maintainers of the Vigilance vessel security-risk profiling system and the Hull Risk assessment system (insurance), which are in use by governments, navies, and marine underwriters in Europe and Asia. Prior to his work in the commercial maritime and security sector, Herbert-Burns served worldwide at sea as a warfare officer in the Royal Navy, and later as an infantry platoon commander and intelligence officer with the British Army’s Brigade of Gurkhas. He is now a serving officer in the Royal Naval Reserve working at the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre (Chicksands) and at the Ministry of Defense in London.

Herbert-Burns has a PhD in Petroleum Geopolitics from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, an MA (MLitt) in International Security Studies from the University of St Andrews, and a BSc (Hons) in International Relations and Politics from the University of Plymouth.