Maritime piracy – Change factor of international security paradigm
Maritime piracy – Change factor of international security paradigm

Summary/Abstract: Supporting 90% of the world’s trade, the maritime transportation is the lifeblood of the global economic system that links every country on earth. The security of maritime routes, ships and crews is critical to support the sustainability of continuous growth and globalization. The proliferation of piracy attacks during the last 10 years has shown the high security vulnerability of the open oceans, especially within the areas bordered by countries with fragile political and governmental structures. No single nation has the resources required to provide safety and security through the entire maritime domain. Furthermore, as one of the world’s „common resources” the ocean requires expanded cooperative relationships between the nations to ensure the security and stability of the maritime domain for the benefit of all. This brings in new security governance models which expand the traditional approach based on national sovereignty to regional cooperation or even a more global partnership. The European Union is one of the leading models for regional cooperation and an important driver behind a global maritime security model, as outlined in the new EU Maritime Security Strategy of June 2014. This paper investigates the impact of piracy attacks on the maritime security policies and the feasibility of a new governance model supporting the establishment of a Global Maritime Domain Awareness (GMDA) system. Based on the evidence identified within new regional and international maritime security policies issued over the last five years, the research conclude that the implementation of a GMDA model have been initiated by some of the maritime user communities, however, a truly global and harmonized model has not been achieved so far.

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