Commercial Transport and Energy Corridors in the Back Sea Region in the Current Maritime Security Environment
Commercial Transport and Energy Corridors in the Back Sea Region in the Current Maritime Security Environment

Summary/Abstract: The high degree of military intensity in the Black Sea region, caused by the Russian aggression towards Ukraine results in strong defragmentation and interests’ divergence of the states. The paper examines the current risks in the maritime security environment, their wide impact on the commercial and energy transport corridors in the context of some conventional and nonconventional emerging threats in the region. The reduction of the volume of the commercial transport and merchant fleet and the risks towards security and safety of commercial ports, the maritime lines of communication and the maritime critical infrastructure increase the defragmentation of the Black sea states in their operational and strategic long-term goals. The current war makes predictions of possible scenarios very difficult resulting in financial and economic insecurities. Besides the conventional physical security issues some key threats like hybrid and information warfare, lawfare of the Russian Federation, non-compliance with the international maritime law, seizure and control of national Ukrainian maritime spaces are considered, examined and analyzed. Another important aspect refers to the general advantage of NATO’s conventional combat fleet and the limited financial framework for the acquisition of new conventional combat capabilities of Russia that may result in the deployment of medium-range tactical systems for the purpose of deterrence as most adequate response. The role of the Black Sea in this scenario should not be underestimated with very bad economic consequences.

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