New Policy Brief – ‘Maritime security sector governance and reform’

SafeSeas’ Tim Edmunds and Scott Edwards collaborated with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) on ‘Maritime security sector governance and reform’ (MSSG/R). The policy brief, available here, is a backgrounder document intended to provide a consideration of the challenges and opportunities of security sector reform and governance in the maritime sector. The maritime … Read more

SafeSeas directors visit Indian Ocean Commission

During a field visit, SafeSeas directors, Christian Bueger and Tim Edmunds, visited the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC). They met with the secretary general of the organization, H.E. Prof Vêlayoudom Marimoutou, as well as Raj Mohabeer, commissioner in charge of maritime security. The discussions firstly focused on the current state of political affairs in the Western … Read more

Researcher presents at maritime situational awareness meeting hosted by Italian navy

Maritime Situational and Domain Awareness (MDA) is one of the key solutions in the maritime security tool box and one of the core themes of SafeSeas research. Since almost 20 years the Italian navy facilitates one of the most important international mechanisms for MDA, known as the Virtual-Regional Maritime Traffic Center and the Trans-Regional Maritime … Read more

SafeSeas researchers present at international maritime security forums

In November 2022 SafeSeas researchers attend several important international maritime security forums. Dr. Jan Stockbruegger will be attending the 50th Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) meeting in Bahrain. He will be providing an academic perspective to the event, drawing on a recent research article on maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean. He argues that … Read more

New research project on the harms of maritime piracy

By Bryan Peters & Letizia Paoli Maritime piracy constitutes one of the most serious “blue crimes” (e.g., Bueger & Edmunds, 2020) and represents a significant threat in many parts of the world, such the Gulf of Guinea and the waters off the Horn of Africa. Although the total number of reported incidents has recently declined, … Read more

Nord Stream Attack: SafeSeas research receives wide media attention

Following the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines, our research on submarine data cables, has caught significant attention. Coverage includes Der Spiegel, Wall Street Journal and several national newspapers. SafeSeas director Professor Christian Bueger also published three commentaries: A commentary in the Conversation demonstrated why the underwater domain gains little attention. A commentary in The … Read more

Nord Stream pipeline sabotage: how an attack could have been carried out and why Europe was defenceless

By Christian Bueger Whatever caused the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, it appears to be the first major attack on critical “subsea” (underwater) infrastructure in Europe. It’s now widely thought – not least by Nato – that the explosions that led to major leaks in the two pipelines were not caused by accidents. … Read more

Event in Copenhagen: Critical maritime infrastructures – understanding the challenges

The oceans host various important infrastructures. Shipping, routes and ports are vital for global trade. In the subsea it is pipelines supplying oil and gas, electricity cables that are key in the green revolution, and data cables that today’s digital connectivity depends on. Yet, in debates on critical infrastructure, the maritime is often forgotten. The … Read more

Event – Cabling Africa: Digital connectivity, subsea data cables and their protection

SafeSeas is co-hosting a public event in Cape Town, South Africa on the 23.9. 14.00-16.00. Chaired by Timothy Walker (Institute for Security Studies), the roundtable will feature presentations from key experts and stakeholders, including the Indian Ocean Commission, the African Union and the digital industry. Register here to attend and to receive further information Digital … Read more

New Commentary: the contact group in the Western Indian Ocean

In early 2022 a subtle, but substantial shift took place in the Western Indian Ocean’s security architecture: The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (known as CGPCS) closed shop. It was replaced by a new format. Yet, not much action followed. In a new commentary, Christian Bueger investigates the prospects of the … Read more