Scott Edwards

Dr. Edwards has worked as a research associate at the University of Bristol for the TOCAS project.

Brexit: how the UK is preparing to secure its seas outside the EU

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Scott Edwards and Tim Edmunds recently wrote a short article for The Conversation, drawing upon insights from the SafeSeas Policy Brief ‘Delivering Maritime Security after Brexit: time for a joined-up approach‘. Four dinghies carrying 53 migrants who tried to cross the English Channel from France were intercepted by British and French authorities in early April. … Read more

SAVE THE DATE: ‘Do we have the right data for fighting maritime piracy?’ Webinar

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SAVE THE DATE: 9th June, 15.00 BST SafeSeas is pleased to announce a webinar event held on the 9th of June, 15.00 BST, in collaboration with Stable Seas, to accompany the release of our new report ‘What we know about piracy’. Click here for the full report Click here for the Programme The speakers are: … Read more

New Report: What we know about piracy

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SafeSeas is pleased to announce the first report resulting from collaboration with Stable Seas: What we know about Piracy Click here for the full report Authored by Lydelle Joubert, the report draws on desk-based research conducted between June 2019 and March 2020. It provides a systematic overview of data, answering the questions: How is data … Read more

Relaunch of SafeSeas newsletter

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SafeSeas is pleased to announce the relaunch of its newsletter. Sent out every two months, it will serve as a digest of recent SafeSeas’ activity. Updates will also be sent to you directly to inform you of our events, publications, and resources. With an exciting range of events and publications forthcoming from multiple projects, now … Read more

Delivering Maritime Security after Brexit: time for a joined-up approach

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SafeSeas Director Tim Edmunds and research associate Scott Edwards have produced a Policy Report based on the ideas discussed at the recent SafeSea’s event ‘Securing Britain’s Seas‘. The UK faces three critical challenges in this area: first, the need to respond effectively to a complex security environment, with important transnational dimensions; second the need to … Read more

A Moment of Opportunity? Britain and the Maritime Security Challenge

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On 28 February 2020, SafeSeas hosted an IdeasLab in Bristol on UK maritime security after Brexit, with the kind support of PolicyBristol, Migration Mobilities Bristol, and the Bristol Global Insecurities Centre. Titled ‘Securing Britain’s Seas’, the goal of the day was to ask how maritime insecurities and blue crimes  impact on UK interests, explore how … Read more

‘Securing Britain’s Seas’ Ideaslab Programme

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SafeSeas is pleased to announce the programme for the  forthcoming ‘Securing Britain’s Seas’ event. The IdeasLab will focus on the challenges of ensuring UK maritime security, drawing on contributions from academics, policy makers and other maritime security stakeholders. Panel one, chaired by Professor Timothy Edmunds (University of Bristol & SafeSeas, will cover ‘Threats, risks and … Read more

From coordination to command: making Thailand’s maritime security governance more efficient?

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Safeseas Research Associate Scott Edwards recently had the opportunity to access insights from Thailand’s Maritime Enforcement Command Center (ThaiMECC). Previously the Maritime Enforcement Coordination Centre, the change of name is indicative of a new intended direction for the agency. ThaiMECC provides a new noteworthy example of Maritime Domain Awareness, which the Safeseas Best Practice Toolkit demonstrates is the engine room of maritime security governance.

When it was first established in 1997, ThaiMECC was intended to be a focal point for tackling Thailand’s maritime insecurities – particularly trafficking and illegal fishing. Bringing together the Royal Thai Navy, Fisheries Department, Marine Department, Customs Department, Maritime and Coastal Environment Department, and the Marine Police, the agency sought to make inter-agency coordination more effective through seminars, exercises and information-sharing.

190904-N-NI298-0067 GULF OF THAILAND (Sep. 04, 2019) U.S. Coast Guard Chief Maritime Enforcement Specialist John Daughters works with a Royal Thai Navy sailor during a joint visit, board, search and seizure training drill with the U.S. Navy aboard a training vessel as part of the first ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise (AUMX). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tristin Barth)

The backbone of ThaiMECC (in both its previous and current incarnation) is the Maritime Information Sharing Centre (MISC). MISC not only gathers and collates information from the different agencies’ information platforms, but also has a staff tasked with analysis, evaluation and dissemination in order to increase Maritime Domain Awareness.

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Growing, yet cautious, optimism – maritime security in the Philippines

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Safeseas Research Associate Scott Edwards recently visited the Philippines and had the opportunity to assess some of the over-arching themes of Philippine maritime security focused upon by security practitioners.

The Philippines faces a large array of security issues, ranging from kidnappings that fund terrorist activities; piracy in an area in which over $40 billion dollars’ worth of cargo flows; trafficking of drugs, weapons and people; cigarette, alcohol and fuel smuggling; and illegal fishing which not only destroys marine habitats but also damages the economy of the Philippines.

At a policy level, however, the government and Navy mainly continues to focus on traditional areas of geopolitics – primarily concerned about China’s overlapping claims in the South of China Sea. This can divert attention from the need to address the wide array of transnational organised crimes at sea that take place in the waters of the Philippines.

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Workshop on Security Sector Reform in the Philippines

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Safeseas research associate Scott Edwards was invited to attend the 7th Workshop on Security Sector Reform, focusing on Maritime Security Sector Reform and Governance. Organised by the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, and the National Defense College of the Philippines, the event brought together maritime security practitioners from various institutions … Read more