DAFF 25A40 - MARITIME SECURITY: The Ungoverned World and Protecting International Trade

The entire global trade system is built on and relies upon a privately owned fleet of merchant ships that carry 80% of everything we consume and yet there is very little study or public discourse about this system, how it is governed and how it is protected, a phenomenon referred to as “sea blindness”. This seminar is designed to introduce the basis of privately run maritime trade, the threats faced by ship owners, ports, and seafarers, and the systems in place to protect them. It will tell the story of mercantile trade on the world's seas focusing on the 20th and 21st Century modernisation and formalisation of the merchant fleet, its governing systems under UN agreements, and its practical business considerations versus the geopolitical priorities of governments and the intentions of criminals and terrorists to profit from shipping's loss – from gray zone aggression to kidnaps at sea. The seminar will draw upon international maritime law and trade agreements, international business standards, and national level government policies. Throughout, it will maintain a practical approach on what these issues mean for the seafarer, the ship owner, the policy maker and the consumer to illustrate the real-life impact of maritime polices – and the very real impact when there are no policies – as well as the career paths available to students in the maritime sector.

Cormac MCGARRY

Séminaire

English

Spring 2023-2024

This course will be highly interactive. Students are expected to conduct simulated paper exercises of what practitioners in the maritime security field do. 1) A 45 minute Ship Security Assessment exercise conducted individually but interactively with the class (40%) 2) A 15 minute simulated geopolitical/security threat briefing designed for a ship owner making a risk/business decision (40%) 3) Assessed level of course engagement (20%).