Maritime industry / maritime sector
European Maritime Safety Agency
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) was set up in 2002 with the aim of meeting the requirement of European countries for an institution that specialises in implementing maritime legislation and which aims to preventing maritime disasters in European waters.
EMSA, which is based in Lisbon, provides technical and operational support in strengthening maritime safety and combating marine pollution. The agency comprises 27 government representatives of all European Union (EU) member states, as well as two non-voting government representatives from Iceland and Norway, four representatives of the European commission and four non-voting representatives of the maritime industry.
Major challenges
For most companies, avoiding data breaches and safeguarding confidential business information are major challenges. This is particularly true for companies that operate internationally, such as EMSA, as credibility and transparency are so much part of their DNA and their value systems.
As a European institution dedicated to ensuring compliance with maritime legislation and the development of an eco-friendly maritime industry, EMSA needed a reliable partner to ensure high security standards in the protection of both information and the environment.
The project
EMSA chose REISSWOLF Portugal as its partner for the destruction of confidential documents (both paper documents and electronic data media) in 2011. To warrant information security at the point where information is produced, EMSA put up secure REISSWOLF e.l.sy. containers in a variety of strategic locations, e.g. next to photocopiers. Each of them comes with castors, making them extremely mobile for everyday use. They only differ in size, depending on their required use.
The containers, which are indestructible and maintenance-free, can be fed any quantities of paper at the same time. EMSA staff can easily insert both loose and stapled documents just as they are and ensure that no one can access them again, thus warranting compliance with data protection legislation.
The documents are then handled by no more than two REISSWOLF employees who have received special training in Data Security and Workplace Safety and who transport them in a locked REISSWOLF Safety Car.
REISSWOLF offers a guarantee for the safety and logistical optimisation of its services. Using data collected by REISSWOLF’s own GPS tracking and fleet management systems, transportation is subject to online monitoring.
Using mechanical shredders, both paper documents and electronic data media are destroyed safely and in compliance with data protection regulations. This process continues until it has reached the security level defined under the German industry standard DIN 66399.
Benefits for EMSA
The REISSWOLF destruction workflow gives EMSA the assurance of high security standards and compliance with data protection regulations covering the entire process, from the collection of the containers on the customer’s premises, to the transportation and then destruction of files and data.
In addition, REISSWOLF warrants that all waste from the destruction process is treated in an eco-friendly manner, observing all legal provisions. This, in turn, helps EMSA meet one of its own environmental protection requirements.
Thanks to REISSWOLF’s high quality and security standards at all levels, both nationally and internationally, as well as several decades of experience in dealing with confidential data, EMSA can be assured that REISSWOLF is the right partner to warrant its information security.
EMSA feedback
“Thanks to its lasting and unambiguous certification of security, responsibility and reliability in collecting, transporting and treating waste products, REISSWOLF is one of the few companies that are regarded by the European agency as strategically important. This includes support in ensuring compliance with the standards issued by the Portuguese environmental authority APA. Communication between EMSA and REISSWOLF has been smooth from day one, and REISSWOLF is always ready to resolve any questions or issues that might occur.” Francisco Baraona, Technical Infrastructure Officer, EMSA