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
In March 2020 SafeSeas will launch its new research project “AMARIS: Analysing Maritime Insecurity in Ghana”. The project will investigate the manifestations of blue crime in Ghana, the countries maritime security governance system and how it is supported through external capacity building assistance. The project is a collaboration between the University of Copenhagen’s Department of … Read more
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
Safeseas is organising an Ideaslab on ‘Securing Britain’s Seas’ on the 28th February in Bristol.
As a nation of islands, maritime security is of critical importance to the UK. Maritime security comprises a range of important issues, including fisheries management, the migration of people, the fight against narcotics and people trafficking, marine environmental protection, the protection of critical infrastructure and counterterrorism at sea. Yet, while the UK remains a major naval power, its independent capacities for the management of maritime security in home waters are underdeveloped. UK maritime security also faces a series of new challenges in consequence of the Brexit process.
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.
Environmental crime is perhaps the form of crime that receives the least attention in the debates on transnational organised crime. Although the thriving debate on a “green criminology” has gradually aimed at alerting academics and policy makers of the detrimental consequences of crimes ranging from pollution to waste crimes to illegal fishing. In the maritime … Read more
Safeseas directors Timothy Edmunds and Christian Bueger attended the Global Maritime Security Conference in Abuja, Nigeria, on the 7th to 9th of October 2019. The high-level conference brought together 2300 delegates from 76 countries, and was organised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Nigeria, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and the Nigerian Navy. … Read more
Professor Edmunds delivering his lead speech at the Global Maritime Security Conference, Nigeria
On 7-9 October 2019, SafeSeas co-director Tim Edmunds was a lead speaker at the Global Maritime Security Conference in Abuja Nigeria. The high-level conference was organised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Nigeria, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Navy. It brought together 2300 delegates from 76 countries to consider maritime security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea region. Professor Edmunds was lead speaker for the thematic session on the Future of Maritime Security.
His remarks set out the main contours of the maritime
security challenge, arguing that these issues are of critical importance to
coastal states in the Gulf of Guinea, and to the global economy and environment
more widely. However, maritime insecurities are complex and multifaceted. They
entail issues of national security, economic development, environmental
protection and human security. They are also interdependent in the sense
that problems in one area may lead to or exacerbate problems in others. They
are transnational in that they are shared between states. They are
problems of the land as well as of the sea, and present significant
jurisdictional complexity, between states, between the range of institutions
implicated in addressing them, and between public and private sectors.
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
Safeseas is pleased to announce an article co-authored by directors Tim Edmunds and Christian Bueger, and former Research Associate Robert McCabe, has been published in Third World Quarterly. Titled ‘Into the sea: capacity-building innovations and the maritime security challenge’, the article argues that maritime security capacity-building not only requires further study, but should also be … Read more
