International Maritime Organization’s Post

10 African countries with the smallest merchant marine fleet

Interesting editorial today in gCaptain about how to restructure global governance at sea in view of cascading challenges to shipping. Proposal is for new maritime-centred G7 type approach, here called the Maritime 8 (M8). Canada rates a short discussion, but for all sorts of obvious reasons may not be significant enough to be included. In summary, "the M8 isn’t just a proposal—it’s a rallying cry for diplomats, naval leaders, and maritime industry experts. It’s a challenge to rethink our approach to maritime policy and our engagement with the world’s oceans." That applies to Canada, the USA, the UK and EU as much as it does everywhere else.  https://lnkd.in/gy97AbAh

Thailand’s maritime governance priorities: modernizing its naval force, clarifying legal ambiguities, and reorienting its strategic culture toward the maritime domain. Read Tita Sanglee’s contribution to the Blue Security Program series: https://lnkd.in/d4XQxvGU

A noteworthy observation, putting forward the idea for Turkey, the EU, and the US to unite in creating a steadfast and ongoing allied naval presence in the Black Sea, aiming to counter potential disruptions posed by Russia.

Flashback in Maritime History: Sinking of the HMS Birkenhead – 26 Feb 1852 #maritime #shipping #vessels #shipsandshipping #maritimelaw #maritimesafety #shipmanagement #maritimeindustry #ships #shippingindustry #marineindustry #maritimehistory #ocean #seafarers #shipbuilding #shipowners #maritimesecurity #maritimeinnovation #maritimelaw #maritimetraining #maritimeeducation 

I'm looking forward to speaking later this week at The Wilson Center Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition's program "Competition at Sea: Building Resilience in a Maritime Enterprise in Crisis". One of the biggest challenges the U.S. now faces in the maritime domain is China's advance in maritime commerce, infrastructure, and security. I am excited to talk more about China's role at sea and how the U.S. should understand China's maritime strategy and how USG should respond to it. https://lnkd.in/ehsBYkKw

Are you a seafarer? Then you must have heard about RoRo vessels. But what does it stand for and what do they do? We at Sailor Today have you covered. RoRo stands for “Roll-on/roll-off”, and these type of ships are designed to carry wheeled cargo. Listen to Sailor Today International Maritime Radio's Maritime Nuggets to keep yourself updated and informed! #seafarers #sailortodayradio #sailorlife #maritimecommunity #mariners #marineknowledge

Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania sign Black Sea demining deal - mines have since washed up in the waters of the three countries, endangering shipping and complicating Ukraine's efforts to break through a Russian naval blockade. - the initiative would involve only the ships of the three Black Sea littoral states, adding that other countries' contributions would be possible when conditions are met.  - Turkey controls Black Sea maritime and naval traffic, which must pass Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait and the Dardanelles before reaching the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. - With the outbreak of war, Turkey invoked a clause of an international treaty called the Montreux Convention banning the passage of naval vessels from non-littoral countries to and from the Black Sea. https://lnkd.in/eQws8bvT

In recent years, the world has felt an historical phenomenon with a special intensity: the effects of war on the business of the merchant navy. This phenomenon dates back to prehistoric times and appears in some measure in all shipping cultures, as it is linked to the nature of war itself. Disrupting the supply chain used by enemy forces has always been a part of warfare and, in most cases, shipping ways are key in supply chains. The more globally interconnected supply chains become, the more will the effects of regional conflicts will be felt worldwide. Therefore, the naval element of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has such international relevance, or the attacks on merchant vessels at the mouth of the Red Sea by the Houthis in Yemen have met an international military response. The highly complicated current diplomatic constellation in the South China Sea is also linked to the possibility of blocking commercial shipping lines.   Merchant vessels have always been under the menace of suffering from blockades or piracy – in many cases sanctioned by states. In the modern age, this state sanction of piracy would take form into letters of marque that legally allowed privateers to takes ships considering their prize laws. Those laws often applied to naval commanders as well. The Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law as part of the treaty that ended the Crimean War in 1856, was a point of no return in international law abolishing privateering and regulating naval prizes and blockades. These practices have continued being common in most wars since, and most countries still have regulations regarding taking merchant ships as prize. Taking prizes has nevertheless faded since the end of World War II, while sea blockades remain a constant. Those are specially effective in narrow seaways that are important knots in the international logistics chain. Blocking them has caused several international crises since the end of world War II. The Blockades od the Suez Canal by Egypt or the “Tanker War” during the Iran Irak War are historically recent examples similar to those that are disrupting the world economies at the moment. #maritime #museum #hamburg #history

The recent state visit of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Hanoi was the latest sign of the growing strategic convergence between the Philippines and Vietnam regarding maritime security and the South China Sea. Building on a range of past efforts, both leaders confirmed an agreement on coast guard cooperation and a future bilateral code of conduct for the South China Sea. Marcos also invited Vietnam to participate in the multilateral naval exercise MARPOLEX in the Philippines later this year, alongside Indonesia and Japan. This convergence of views between the two countries comes at a time of heightened tensions in the South China Sea, generated by a growing Chinese assertiveness and its use of an ever-growing set of area denial capacities, hybrid warfare techniques, and grey zone tactics. This has resulted in a string of dangerous incidents around several Philippine-claimed features, such as Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal, Whitsun Reef, Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal, and in and around Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, either near Triton Island or in the Vanguard Bank area. https://lnkd.in/ggry2neb