As part of the UN Ocean Conference that is taking place in Lisbon from the 27.6. to 1.7., SafeSeas is co-hosting an expert workshop and a public event that investigates how subsea data cables can be better protected and how synergies with marine conservation goals can be achieved. We have partnered with the Atlantic Center of the Portuguese Ministry of Defense, the Institute of Security Studies and the Department of Political Science of the University of Copenhagen. The expert workshop is a closed meeting of government and EU officials, industry and academics to discuss the current threats to marine infrastructures and how different agencies, the industry and marine users can collaborate better on a national and regional level. The event draws on the insights of the recent study for the European Parliament authored by Christian Bueger, Tobias Liebetrau and Jonas Franken. A second component of the event is a public seminar which is part of the official programme of the UN Ocean Conference. This side event focuses on the synergies between ocean infrastructure protection and marine conservation. The panel is opened by the Portuguese Secretary of State for Defence, Marco Capitão Ferreira, as well as Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. It is chaired by Martin Koehring, Head, World Ocean Initiative, Economist Impact and features Steve Dawe, Chairman European Subsea Cable Association, Kaitlin Meredith, UNODC Global Maritime Crime Programme, Philippe Dumont, CEO EllaLink, Leendert Bal, Head of Safety, Security and Surveillance Department, European Maritime Safety Agency and Christin Bueger, SafeSeas
The research network for Maritime Security and Ocean Governance