Ocean governance is complex. More than 26 UN organizations govern some part of the ocean, and the number of mechanisms for regional seas is even higher. One of the initiatives that cuts through this complexity is the annual Our Ocean Conference (OOC). This week, I had the pleasure of attending the 10th edition of the event in Busan, Korea, and presenting our recent maritime security study at a side event.

The OOC is a format introduced by the United States in 2014 under the Obama administration. At the event, key ocean challenges are discussed at senior expert and ministerial levels, and states, industry, and NGOs are invited to make commitments.

Key themes of this year’s gathering were the expansion of marine protected areas, sustainable fishing, and the decarbonization of shipping. The gathering is also a significant networking opportunity with dozens of side events, receptions, and dinners.

For the anniversary, Korea funded an assessment of the format’s past achievements and introduced a digital focus with a stronger business component. The conference now has a formal secretariat that tracks commitments and will support the 2026 host, Kenya, and the city of Mombasa.

Our side event was hosted by the Embassy of Denmark in Korea, the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS), United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, and the University of Copenhagen, with support from the Velux Foundation. We explored pathways for building stronger links between maritime security and the blue economy.

The OOC exemplifies why we need these links, as ocean discussions rarely consider security beyond illicit fishing. A discussion of the role coastguards and navies play in marine conservation, for instance, is often missing.

🔎 The backbone of maritime security are information sharing systems. These are important for sharing information, such as suspicious vessels of interest, between agencies and states and to facilitate joint operations.

⚓ To get a better understanding of what happens in European seas, the European Union is developing two systems. The Common Information Sharing Environment, known as CISE connects civilian authorities, coast guards, fishery protection and police. The MARSUR system provides such services for the military and aims at sharing also classified, secrete information.

🌍 Yesterday I had the pleasure to attend an operational demonstration of MARSUR at the EUNAVFOR headquarters in Rome. Key insights:

➡️ MARSUR is based on an agreement between 22 European states, which includes the United Kingdom and Norway. Its development is led by the European Defense Agency (EDA) since 2005. The system has for long been under development and only recently gained full operational capability, now in a version known as MARSUR 3.

➡️ The event, attended by representatives of European navies, the European Commission and the European External Action Service, showcased how MARSUR can be used to share information and provides rules based threat detection capabilities. Most importantly it allows to gain a shared cross-European picture of the sea.

➡️ The system now also includes a direct link to the civilian CISE system and a link to NATO information sharing tools is under development.

➡️ The demonstration in Rome was an invitation to participating states to start using the system and connect to it, as only five states so far have a working link. The system will be particularly useful for joint operations by the European Naval Forces.

➡️ MARSUR continues, however, to be in development. For now it is too reliant on AIS data, does not directly integrated data from satellites or live feeds from cameras for instance. Working towards standardized European-wide risk profiles of vessels moreover would be an important step of the process. Ensuring that the CISE integration works well and information, including from databases such as customs, will be vital in making MARSUR effective.

⚓ The half day event also featured a review of the current EU maritime security system, included the Coordinated Maritime Presences, the Maritime Area of Interest Coordination Cell, and the three current naval operations Atalanta, Aspides and Irini.

🙏 I had the pleasure to address the audience in the opening panel and introduced some ideas of what the big upcoming challenges for MDA are, including the need to integrate critical maritime infrastructure protection, cyber security and ensuring better application interfaces between platforms.

🔊 What a year! 2024 has been a whirlwind of maritime security developments, research, and engagement.

🔎 The Red Sea crisis and unprecedented attacks on shipping, the rising threat to critical maritime infrastructures we all depend on, the return of piracy activities off the coast of Somalia, environmental degradation, and the continuing need to build stronger maritime security governance institutions across regional seas.

🔝 The numbers tell part of the story: I’ve given 45 talks across the world, published 14 commentaries, a book and 9 research articles, appeared 40+ in media across 13 languages.

Two major milestones stand out:

✅ The publication of “Understanding Maritime Security” with Oxford University Press (with Tim Edmunds) – which first reviewers have described as a “go-to resource” and a “must-read one stop shop”.

✅ and our comprehensive report “Securing the Seas”, marking the beginning of a new partnership with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research to upscale expertise on collective maritime security challenges.

✳️ On the theoretical front, delighted to see two key contributions appear in Global Studies Quarterly: our work on the interaction of communities of practice in ocean governance (with Maren Hofius & Scott Edwards), and a piece rethinking objects and infrastructures in world politics through the lens of modern piracy (with Jan Stockbruegger). Both articles push forward how we think about global governance, the oceans, and materiality in international relations.

🌍 It was a privilege to contribute to major maritime forums: the Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium, the Indian Navy’s MILAN Exercise, the UK First Sea Lord’s Sea Power Conference, Shade Med and SHADE 52. These gatherings highlighted how maritime security continues to be at the heart of global affairs, particularly as we grappled with critical infrastructure protection challenges and the evolving Red Sea crisis.

🧶 In 2025, I will continue to comment on the evolving maritime security landscape, and I look forward to expanding the partnership with UNIDIR and develop a maritime security program that can make a difference.

🎢 But it is also time to finish our new book on the implications of the Age of Infrastructure for Global Ocean Politics, watch out for more soon!

🙏 Thank you to all friends, collaborators, partners, and the broader maritime security community for all the support and inspiring conversations, and another remarkable year of working towards safer seas. Here’s to more collaboration in 2025