shipping and sea cables

Question 1

main opiate routes

Answer 1

• Columbia to the USA (ocean)
• Mexico to the the USA (land)
• Afghanistan - Turkey to Europe (ocean)
• Afghanistan to China, Southeast Asia, Iran (land)
• Afghanistan - Pakistan to Australia
• Afghanistan - Pakistan to Tanzania, Somalia and South Africa
• drug industries fund organised crime and terrorism (e.g. Afghanistan’s major exports of opium, heroine and cannabis are funding the taliban)
• the UK’s main supplier for cocaine is Colombia
• Morocco is a major cannabis producer and it is transported through west Europe
• north America is a main destinations (highest street value and can be affordable)

Question 2

main illegal immigrant routes

Answer 2

• South America to northern Europe
• middle east to southern Europe
• Indonesia to Australia
• south America to southern USA

Question 3

key facts about global smuggling

Answer 3

• the real size of flows of people and drugs can only be quantified crudely, using police reports and anecdotal evidence
• more than 90% of the migrants who cross the Mediterranean illegally use services provided by criminal networks
• it is estimated that in 2015 alone, criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling had a turnover of between 3 - 6 billion euros
• smuggling and unusual shipping activity have increased across the Mediterranean and atlantic in recent years, europe has 70,000km of coastline, much of which is poorly monitored by security agencies
• this weakness is exploited by organised criminal and terrorist groups, who transport illegal substances, guns and counterfeit goods globally
• there have been allegations of exploitation and slavery in parts of the uk’s fishing fleet, the £770 million fishing industry increasingly relies foreign labour

Question 4

after 9/11

Answer 4

• after the 2001 terror attacks in new york, maritime security was strengthened globally with the 2004 international ship and port security code (isps)
• introduced by the un’s international maritime organisation, the isps code gives port authorities heightened security powers to monitor shipping and control access for vessels

Question 5

inter agency strategies in support of un conventions

Answer 5

• 1988 un drug convention - united nation convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substance
• un single drug convention - united nations single convention on narcotic drugs (1961 as amended by the 1972 protocol)
• UNTOC

Question 6

UNTOC

Answer 6

• un convention against transnational organised crime (2000) and its supplementing protocols
• trafficking in persons protocol - protocol to prevent, supress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the united nations convention against transnational organised crime
• migrant smuggling protocol - protocol against the smuggling of migrants by land, air and sea, supplementing the united nations convention against transnational organised crime

Question 7

combined maritime forces

Answer 7

• the combined maritime forces (cmf) is a multinational maritime partnership, which exists to uphold the international rules based order (irbo)
• there are 34 member states involved (e.g. canada, germany)
• they counter illicit non state actors on the high seas and promote security, stability and prosperity
• they work across approx. 3.2 million sq miles of international waters, which encompass some of the world’s most important shipping lanes
• they have a wide remit
• has 4 combined task forces, e.g. CTF 151 (counter piracy)

Question 8

NCA

Answer 8

• national crime organisation
• the nca has a wide remit
• tackles serious and organised crime, strengthens uk borders, fights fraud and cyber crime and protects children and young people from sexual abuse and exploitation

Question 9

frontex

Answer 9

• in october 2004, the european agency for the management of operational cooperation at the external borders of the member states of the eu (frontex) was established by council regulation (EC) 2007/2004
• this has been superseded by regulation (EU) 2016/1624 in september 2016 and established the european border and coast guard agency, which kept the name frontex

Question 10

uk border force

Answer 10

• law enforcement command within the home office
• secures the border and promotes national prosperity by facilitating the legitimate movement of people and foods, whilst preventing those that would cause harm form entering the uk
• this achieved through the immigration and customs checks carried out by staff at ports and airports
• some of the border forces responsibilities: checking the immigration status of people arriving in and departing the uk, patrolling the uk coastline and searching vessels, searching baggage, vehicles and cargo for illicit goods or illegal immigrants

Question 11

the pattern of global shipping routes

Answer 11

• an east west corridor links north america, europe and pacific asia through the suez canal, the strait of malacca and the panama canal
• a major route also extends from europe to eastern south america and then various secondary routes, such as brazil and south africa

Question 12

factors influencing global shipping routes

Answer 12

• physical geography
• the shape of coastlines
• winds, water, water currents, water depth
• reefs
• sea ice and icebergs

Question 13

the direction and type of trade across oceans

Answer 13

• ocean trade connects producers and consumers of raw materials and manufactured goods
• market size exerts a strong influence on the volume of shipping visiting a port
• income levels are also significant as they affect the ability to purchase goods
• the type of goods traded influence the volume and direction of ocean trade

Question 14

marine technology

Answer 14

• containerisation is fundamental to globalisation
• by using standard sized metal boxed to move a wide variety of goods, costs have been reduced dramatically
• the elimination of ‘loose cargo’ has resulted in in reducing costs at every stage of a journey from factory to final distribution centre
• ocean freight rates have reduced as a consequence and time taken for goods to travel around the globe has also been reduced
• bulk carriers of goods such as oil, mineral ores and grains gave increased in size

Question 15

recent incidents in the south china sea

Answer 15

2014: china sets up a drilling rig near to paracels; multiple collisions occur between chinese and vietnamese vessels

Question 16

threats to shipping from piracy

Answer 16

• a rise in transcontinental shipping associated with globalisation has also correlated with a rise in piracy
• there is a seasonal pattern to attacks in the western indian ocean; during monsoon seasons, especially the summer one, there are fewer incidents due to poor weather leading to rough sea conditions
• military deterrence has been stepped up in the gulf of guinea as ‘petro-piracy’ has increased; tankers, drilling platforms and supply vessels have become targets
• piracy has strong links to organised crime networks, the profits are often laundered through economic systems such as land and house purchases

Question 17

refugees by boat in the mediterranean and asia

Answer 17

• relatively wealthy countries on western europe have attracted migrants, especially if there are strong historic/colonial links, e.g. algeria and france
• continuing political instability and a lack of progress in raising standards of living mean that in several countries, traffickers will find many desperate people willing to pay a substantial fee to be smuggled
• refugees head towards the mediterranean from lots of different countries in sub saharan africa and the middle east, many as a result of a surge in armed conflict, e.g. syria
• people traffickers control the smuggling routes to the coast and on boats

Question 18

sea floor cables

Answer 18

• 99% of international data is transmitted by wires at the bottom of the ocean called submarine communication cables
• cables are installed by special boats called cable layers
• they are faster and cheaper than satellites
• internet cables have a life expectancy of 25 years
• there are nearly 350 cables, spanning more than 550,000 miles
• almost 100% of the transoceanic internet traffic is relayed through submarine cables
• the network connects every continent except antarctica
• cable instillation is slow, tedious and expensive
• only governments, shipping companies and providers know the exact locations

Question 19

ICPC

Answer 19

according to the international cable protection committee:
- underwater telecommunication cables hold the predominant role of over 95% of international voice and data traffic
- the advantages include: high reliability, capacity and security, cost effectiveness on major telecommunication routes and avoidance of the delays present in satellite traffic

Question 20

international management of sea floor cables

Answer 20

• ICPC - ‘to promote the safeguarding of submarine telecommunication cables against manmade and natural hazards’
• the legal framework of submarine cables is developed in international law
• as the territorial sea of each coastal state falls under the full state’s jurisdiction, the submarine cables in that zone are governed by the same legal regime applicable for land cables
• in other maritime zones, the rules of the law of the sea convention regulate the rights of laying and operation of submarine cables and the rights of states to oppose such undertakings

Question 21

UNCLOS and sea floor cables

Answer 21

• article 2 of the united nations convention on the law of the sea (unclos) states that the sovereignty of the coastal state extends to its territorial and archipelagic waters
• permission and consent of the coastal state is necessary to lay a submarine cable in that area
• the coastal state has full rights to impose transit charges
• there is a possibility for the coastal state to set conditions regarding the track of the cable and its dimensions
• therefore, the laying of the submarine cables in the territorial (and archipelagic) waters is completely regulated by the national law of the coastal state
• in connection to this, the right of ‘innocent passage’ may be restricted in order to protect submarine cables

Question 22

geneva convention and sea floor cables

Answer 22

• recognised the right of coastal state to exploit its natural resources and gave the coastal state a right to prevent the laying of the cables which justifiably interfere with that right
• article 2 states there is ‘freedom to lay submarine cables…’ and that this can be exercised by all states with reasonable regard to the interests of other states

Question 23

article 26
(sea floor cables)

Answer 23

1. all states shall be entitled to lay submarine cables and pipelines on the bed of the high seas
2. subject to its right to take reasonable measures for the exploration of the continental shelf and the exploitation of its natural resources, the coastal state may not not impede the laying or maintenance of such cables or pipelines
3. when laying such cables or pipelines, the state in question shall pay due regard to cable or pipelines already in position on the seabed, in particular, possibilities of repairing existing cables or pipelines shall not be prejudiced

Question 24

MNCs and sea floor cables

Answer 24

• microsoft and facebook are jointly building marea, a 6,600km, highest capcity ever atlantic cable linking usa, europe, africa, middle east and asia
• google helped fund thr US$ 300 million faster cable project linking the usa, japan and taiwan
• vodofone recently laid a new cable from bengal to south east asia, south asia and the middle east

Question 25

risks of sea floor cables

Answer 25

• the most common hazards, accounting for about 60% of cut cable incidents are dropped anchors or fishing nets
• asia temporarily lost 75% of its internet capacity in 2008 when a ship’s anchor severed a major internet artery running along the seabed from palermo in italy to alexandria in egypt
• the japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011 damaged several fibre optic submarine cables
• japan telecom operator KDDI corp admitted one of its cables was damaged and that it was unable to transmit any signal between japan and the us
• when the damage is offshore, it takes time to identify and address the problem, often they find a way to bypass the problem
• some of the connections within japan were also lost, with the tohoku region temporarily unavailable
• china telecom corp also had to make emergency repairs to increase capacity between japan and north america
• aftershocks slowed the repairs down as the robots used to fix the cables need still ground to work on
• sharks also bite through the cable (responsible for less than 1% of faults)

Question 26

operation triton (frontex)

Answer 26

• multinational organisations (26 eu countries, e.g. the uk and denmark) operating under eu regulations
• launched in November 2014
• the primary focus is border control and surveillance, search and rescue however, since the beginning of the operation, Frontex vessels and aircrafts have on regularly been redirected by the Italian Coast Guard to assist migrants in distress
• the operational focus of Triton has expanded to include other forms of cross border crime: arresting of people smugglers, contributing to the detections of drug smuggling, illegal fishing and maritime pollution
• officers deployed by the agency also support the Italian authorities in the registration of the arriving migrants, debriefing officers collect intelligence about people smuggling networks operating in Libya and other African countries on the smuggling routes; the agency then shares this information with the Italian authorities and Europol
• the operational area of Triton covers the territorial waters of Italy as well as parts of the search and rescue (SAR) zones of Italy and Malta, it stretches 138 NM South of Sicily

Question 26

nca and drug supply to the uk

Answer 26

• an example of uk intervention
• e.g. heroin trafficking
• the amount of heroin estimated to be imported annually to the uk is between 18-23 tonnes, most of this derived from afghan opium
• pakistan is major transit country for afghan opiates with well established ethnic and familial links to the uk
• heroin trafficked via pakistan to the uk is likely to have either been sente directly by parcel, air courier or maritime container

Question 27

shipping

Answer 27

• more than 600 million shipping containers are shipped annually
• ships are 90% bigger than 20 years ago