New Funding: 2023 ESRC Impact Assessment Account Award

Following the development and publication of a counter terrorism framework for cruise and passenger ships - presented in more detail in the ‘In Focus’ section of this newsletter - a CTPSR research team have won funding from the 2023 ESRC Impact Assessment Account Award scheme, to generate impact from the findings of the paper. The award will fund workshops with UK policymakers and practitioners designed, in the first instance, to validate the framework, before examining in more depth the requirements for the operationalisation of the framework by the industry and crucially, flag registries.

Project Update: “A Sea of Opportunity” - The Maritime Dimension of Brexit Narratives.

Dr Robert McCabe was awarded funding from the British Academy/Leverhulme in Spring 2023 to examine how Brexit was shaped by narratives linked to the maritime domain. More specifically, the project explores how these narratives link to ideas of security, identity, and socio-cultural perceptions and how these perceptions shaped the campaign and referendum result. This project will generate new data and outputs that will, for the first time, reveal the maritime dimension of Brexit narratives, why this mattered, and how it continues to create impasses in UK-ROI-EU relations. Joe Davies, PhD Candidate at CTPSR, has recently joined the project as Research Assistant. Joe will work with the PI on building an interactive database on maritime phraseology and Brexit.

Webpage: https://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/research-directories/current-projects/2023/a-sea-of-opportunity

Specially written for this newsletter, in this issue’s briefing, Dr Adam Fenton focuses on the opportunities, risks and questions surrounding the use of autonomous vessels.

AI is not a new field of computer science that has suddenly burst onto the scene, it “has been the subject of continuous research for more than half a century”. However, it has received significant attention in recent months due to the rapid rise of Large Language Model (LLM) chatbots. ChatGPT boss Sam Altman recently told the US Congress “that government regulation of artificial intelligence is ‘critical’ because of the potential risks it poses to humanity”. On the one hand, AI has “the potential to improve nearly every aspect of our lives” on the other, there are significant concerns about job losses, disinformation, and security risks when it is used for malicious purposes. 

In the maritime domain, a similar dilemma is looming. Both private companies and state agencies such as navies and coastguards from various nations have made significant progress applying AI to shipping and naval ops. AI is already being applied in the maritime sector to processes such as voyage optimisation, route planning, systems monitoring and decision support. Autonomous, self-driving ships are now emerging from the experimental stages and we stand at the verge of a transformation in maritime practice. Autonomous experimental vessels such as the Mayflower and Maxlimer have completed international voyages. The US Navy is investing heavily in a program of unmanned surface and undersea vessels (USVs and UUVs) of varying sizes, from “gliders” through to extra-large surface ships capable of operating autonomously at sea for several months. The UK’s Navy X is an “Autonomy and Lethality Accelerator, which rapidly develops, tests and trials cutting-edge equipment” and has a number of autonomous programs and experiments in progress. Similar progress is happening in the commercial sphere with Norwegian companies like Yara and Kongsberg leading the way in Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) with the Yara Birkeland. UK-based companies like MSUBS are also pushing the limits in the field contributing to both the military and civilian applications. The arguments in favour of uncrewed shipping are significant – increased efficiency, speed, reduced costs and risk, and improved safety.

All this progress begs the question, how is all this new tech being regulated and controlled? The safety concerns raised by crewless ships are readily apparent. Seafaring is a skill and a profession honed over a lifetime of practice, entailing intimate knowledge of the oceans, tides, weather, engineering, mechanical, navigational, pilotage and logistical challenges; can they all be reduced to algorithms and machine learning capable of handling every aspect of a ship’s operation? There is, as yet, no definitive answer to that question, but significant progress is being made, in both answering the technical challenges, and in preparing for the coming wave of uncrewed vessels coming into operation.

The IMO and the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have both made significant progress in the massive task of regulating autonomous and uncrewed vessels. Recent research from CTPSR’s maritime security group shows that the IMO through its various sub-committees for Facilitation, Law and Safety is preparing to draft a comprehensive MASS code that seeks to address all aspects of their operation in international shipping. The UK, a world leader in shipping, under its Maritime 2050: navigating the future seeks to ensure the safe operation of uncrewed vessels while maintaining innovation and competitive advantages. The lead agency in this regard is the MCA which has set out a proactive “process for certifying the operation [of uncrewed vessels] in collaboration with industry”. In the military sector, clear statements and practice from leading nations such as the US and UK will be key to establishing international norms on the use of autonomous vessels and answering many questions about the ethics and legality of their use as “warships”.  One thing is clear, much work and progress is yet to be done, both in realising the full impacts of autonomous vessels, and preparing for the regulatory pathway for their arrival.  

If you are interested to know more about the issues discussed in this briefing, please contact Dr Fenton at: adam.fenton@coventry.ac.uk.

In each issue of our newsletter, we highlight published research involving a member or members of CTPSR’s maritime security team. In this issue, we look at:

Kuhn, K., McIlhatton, D., Malcolm, J.A. and Chapsos, I. ‘Protective security at sea: a counter terrorism framework for cruise and passenger ships’. World Maritime University Journal of Maritime Affairs (2023). You can download a post-print copy of the article here.

Abstract

In the present context of global terrorism, managing protective security in cruise and passenger ships is a challenge for organisations. This is due, in part, to the distinct lack of a counter terrorism framework for the industry. To address this gap, this paper develops a counter terrorism framework for cruise and passenger ships. This framework identifies protective security components and terrorist threats based on known attacks. It provides stakeholders with a means to assess risk, both in terms of likelihood and wider organisational impact. From an operational security perspective, the contribution of the framework is threefold: First, it offers a consistent approach to delivering an effective protective security posture at all stages of a ship’s itinerary. Second, it is envisaged that the application of the framework will improve security decision-making within organisations. Third, improved organisational security may, over time, enhance deterrence.

Dr Robert McCabe travelled to Potsdam, Germany to attend the European International Studies Association (EISA) 16^th Pan-European Conference (5^th-9^th September). Robert acted as Chair and Discussant at a panel on 'Norms, Contestation, and the Rule of Law: Implications for Maritime (Legal) Frameworks in a Changing Environment' on Friday and the following day presented a paper entitled: '(Sub)Seablindness: Ireland and the Governance of Underwater Infrastructure on Europe’s Western Frontier’.

On the 7^th and 8^th of September, PhD researcher Joe Davies attended Liverpool John Moores’ Centre for Port and Maritime History’s annual conference, entitled ‘Security and the Sea’.  Over the course of two days, a range of research into historical and contemporary maritime security challenges, phenomena, events and mitigations was presented to an engaging audience.  Joe delivered a presentation entitled ‘Navigating Risks and Unlocking Strategy: Understanding the Concepts, Governance, Practice and Delivery of Intelligence in the Maritime Domain’.  This primer sought to marry the intellectual spaces of Intelligence Studies and Maritime Security, understanding how the concepts and foci of the former manifest themselves in the latter.  Whilst intelligence is a longstanding practice in the maritime domain and is central to both military and civilian decision-making, the conceptual space remains largely unaddressed.  Research into maritime intelligence is a side-project that Joe is steadily conducting alongside his PhD.  The presentation was seemingly well received, and the ensuing discussion helped Joe develop further ideas into this topic.

And finally...

If you have any questions about the content in this newsletter, want to know about the Maritime Security team’s research, or wish to discuss training and consultancy services, please email: james.malcolm@coventry.ac.uk 

To sign up to our Maritime Security Mailing List please click here.

Please note: CTPSR are not responsible for any external links in this newsletter.