Last year the UK government started a process to refresh its maritime security strategy. In what was an extensive process of consultations with governmental entities, but also academia, industry and civil society, as part of SafeSeas activities, we had a strong role in the process. This concerned in particular expertise on coordination, blue crimes, but also emerging issues, such as environmental security at sea, climate change and the importance of critical maritime infrastructures.

We wrote an article on the strategy work, held a number of meetings with the drafting team, and a larger expert workshop on the implementation of the strategy (documented here). Overall this presented a focused and impactful academic intervention and highlights how academics can bring reflexivity and a forward-looking attitude to a political process.