20+ years · Engine room to boardroom

Built from the
shipyard floor up.

TAGSIA was not written in a consultancy office. Every procedure, every section reference, and every checklist was developed by a practitioner who has commissioned automation systems on large cruise ships, managed OT as an ETO on a superyacht, and is currently leading E26 compliance on a live newbuild — working directly with Lloyd’s Register and DNV.

20+
Years in maritime
electrical & OT systems
6
Professional certifications
held across career
2
Class societies actively
engaged — LR & DNV
3
Vessel types with
direct OT experience
A note on attribution. The primary author is currently engaged under a professional services agreement that limits public attribution. Rather than attach a name, we invite you to verify our technical accuracy directly — every §reference is traceable to its source document. If anything is wrong, tell us and it will be corrected within 24 hours.
Professional background

The experience behind the content

Maritime OT security sits at the intersection of naval architecture, industrial control systems, IT networking, and international maritime law. Generic IT security professionals miss the operational realities that determine whether a security control actually works at sea. TAGSIA was built by someone who has held every technical role that matters in this space — from commissioning automation systems on large passenger vessels, to managing full OT responsibility as an ETO, to running shore-based enterprise IT infrastructure.

Lead Electrical Inspector / Cyber Resilience

Currently responsible for IACS UR E26/E27 compliance on a live cruise ship newbuild. Conducting Cyber Security Risk Assessments with Lloyd’s Register, developing CBS asset inventories and OT interface diagrams, and preparing full Class submission documentation. Parallel advisory engagement with DNV on E26 technical interpretation.

IACS E26/E27 Lloyd’s Register DNV CSDD FAT / Blackout testing

Automation Engineer — Large Passenger Vessels

Commissioning and integration of ship automation systems including Power Management Systems (PMS), Integrated Bridge Systems (IBS), ECDIS, and machinery control on large cruise ships. Contributed to multiple newbuild construction projects including factory acceptance tests and blackout and recovery trials. This is the layer most IT security professionals have never touched.

PMS IBS / ECDIS Newbuild Cruise ships SMS compliance

ETO / AV / IT Officer — Superyacht

Full ETO accountability for all electrical, electronic, and IT systems onboard a superyacht. Deployed and administered a Sophos Next-Generation Firewall to harden OT/IT network segmentation, optimise bandwidth, and prioritise critical traffic. Maintained Integrated Bridge System, VSAT and 4G communications, KNX lighting control, and all safety-related systems.

Sophos NGFW IBS / VSAT KNX OT/IT segmentation Superyacht

Maritime Software Developer & Shore-Side IT

Developed a real-time Python decision support system for yachts with NMEA 0183 navigation data integration and WebSocket-based live updates — the direct source of TAGSIA’s protocol intelligence content. Earlier shore-based roles managing enterprise IT infrastructure across multiple European locations, including Cisco networking, VPN deployment, and disaster recovery planning.

Python / NMEA 0183 WebSocket Cisco Enterprise IT Disaster recovery
Current work

Written from inside a live E26 programme

TAGSIA’s content is not based on reading the regulations and extrapolating. It is validated against what Class surveyors are actually asking for, what OEMs are actually delivering, and what ETOs are actually capable of executing during a port call.

Active project — 2025 / present

Lead cyber resilience role — cruise ship newbuild, E26 first-of-class

Currently serving as the lead technical resource for IACS UR E26 compliance on the first E26-scoped vessel at a major cruise shipbuilder. Working directly with Lloyd’s Register as the certifying Class Society on CSDD development, zone and conduit architecture, CBS inventory, and full Class submission documentation. Running parallel advisory discussions with DNV on E26 technical interpretation. This is not historical knowledge — it is the live, current standard being validated against actual Class survey requirements in 2025–2026.

IACS UR E26 Rev.1 Lloyd’s Register DNV Advisory Cruise ship newbuild Active 2025–2026
Qualifications

Certifications & licences

All certifications below are held by the primary author. The combination of maritime operational licences and formal cyber security certification is what allows TAGSIA to bridge engine room reality and regulatory language.

Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
ISC2
2025
Maritime Cyber Security Advanced & ISO 27001:2013
Maritime Cyber Security — Advanced Level
2024
Maritime Cyber Security Internal Auditor
Maritime Cyber Security — Internal Auditor
2024
High Voltage — MCA Licence
Maritime & Coastguard Agency
2013
KNX Partner Licence
KNX Association
2016
Microsoft MCSA
Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator
2008
Why it matters

Why generic IT security fails at sea

The procedures that work in an office server room will get someone hurt on a vessel. TAGSIA’s content is written with the physical and operational constraints of ships built in — because the author has lived them.

Domain Generic IT security TAGSIA approach
Infrastructure Office servers & cloud PMS, ECDIS, AMS & High Voltage systems
Networking TCP/IP office LAN NMEA 0183/2000, Modbus, maritime zone architecture
Access control Active Directory & SSO Crew rotation, watch handover, offline MFA
Patching Patch Tuesday, auto-update OEM-approved only, pre-tested, never mid-voyage
Incident response Call the SOC ETO-executable, no internet required, safety-first shutdown
Regulations GDPR, SOC 2, ISO 27001 IACS E26/E27, IMO MSC-FAL.1, IEC 62443, BIMCO v4
Vessel types Any & all (generic) Cruise ships, superyachts, bulk, container, offshore
Verify our work

We invite you to check everything

Every section reference in every TAGSIA playbook is traceable to its source regulation. Every §4.2.3 maps to IACS UR E26 Rev.1. Every ISM Code reference maps to the current consolidated text. If you find an error — a wrong section number, an outdated requirement, a procedure that won’t work in practice — contact us and it will be corrected within 24 hours.

Everything is free with a registered account.

Whether you’re building to Class or hardening an existing vessel — register free and access all playbooks, both assessment tools, the vault forms, and the intelligence feed.

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