The new strategy redefines maritime security as; upholding laws, regulations, and norms to deliver a free, fair, and open maritime domain. With this new approach, the Government recognises any Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and environmental damage to the seas as a maritime security concern.

In addition, to enhance the UK’s maritime security knowledge, the Government has established the UK Centre for Seabed Mapping (UK CSM), that seeks to enable the UK’s seabed mapping sector to collaborate to collect more and better data. Seabed mapping underpins many maritime operations including trade and shipping.

Working with industry and academia, Secretaries of State from DEFRA, DfT, FCDO, Home Office and MoD will focus on five strategic objectives:

• Protecting our homeland: Delivering the world’s most effective maritime security framework for our borders, ports and infrastructure
• Responding to threats: Taking a whole system approach to bring world leading capabilities and expertise to bear to respond to new emerging threats
• Ensuring prosperity: Ensuring the security of international shipping, the unimpeded transmission of goods, information and energy to support continued global development and our economic prosperity
• Championing values: Championing global maritime security underpinned by freedom of navigation and the International Order
• Supporting a secure, resilient ocean: Tackling security threats and breaches of regulations that impact clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse maritime environment

The UK Chamber of Shipping CEO, Sarah Treseder said:“A proactive maritime security strategy is essential to keeping trade routes and energy supplies secure, especially for an island nation. Today’s welcome commitments to improve collaboration, both with industry and governments across the world, will help deliver a more secure maritime environment and help provide confidence to the shipping community.”

Source: https://thedigitalship.com/news/maritime-satellite-communications/item/7997-new-maritime-security-strategy-to-target-physical-and-cyber-threats