CIMSEC – There is widespread recognition that cybersecurity vulnerabilities make the maritime transportation system a soft target…Despite the widespread recognition of these vulnerabilities, international port cybersecurity laws remain soft—unenforceable and discretionary. The international community should take steps to harden these laws and therefore harden the targets.

We invite you to try War Studies Primer – an introductory course on the study of war and military history. Its purpose is to provide an introduction to the study of war.

War Studies Primer is presented as a lecture curriculum at the university level. It is a free, non-credit, self-study course that consists of 28 topics and over 1,900 slides and is updated on a yearly basis.

Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.

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StrategyPage – In southern Spain (Malaga province, just east of the Straits of Gibraltar), a March 2021 police raid on a drug gang coastal warehouse found a ten-meter (31 foot) narco-sub (drug smuggling submersible vessel) under construction and nearly completed.

We invite you to try War Studies Primer – an introductory course on the study of war and military history. Its purpose is to provide an introduction to the study of war.

War Studies Primer is presented as a lecture curriculum at the university level. It is a free, non-credit, self-study course that consists of 28 topics and over 1,900 slides and is updated on a yearly basis.

Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.

To see every post you can also follow NOSI via RSS at nosi.org/feed or via email by entering your email address and clicking on the Follow button in the right hand column of the site.

You can also follow us on social media as @nosintel on Facebook at facebook.com/nosintel or on Twitter at twitter.com/nosintel

Barents Observer – This new Arctic containership can manage year-around sailing along Russia’s Northern Sea Route and is in the current market situation only slightly more costly than the much larger Suez Canal open water vessels.

BBC – Dozens of vessels are stuck after a giant container ship became wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal, one of the world’s busiest trade routes.

DW – The vessel would have been able to transport several tons of illegal narcotics while largely avoiding detection. The bust was part of an international investigation.

(Thanks to Alain)

War on the Rocks – Since January 2018, a game of cops and robbers has played out in the 1,000-nautical-mile stretch of ocean between Taiwan and the 38^th parallel. The “robbers” are dozens of Chinese, Taiwanese, Liberian, Sri Lankan, and unflagged tankers engaged in the illicit transfer of sanctioned goods to North Korea and incentivized by a low-risk, high-reward payoff structure. The “cops” are a multinational coalition known as the Enforcement Coordination Cell, consisting of the United States and its Five Eyes partners (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom) alongside South Korea, Japan, and France. The coalition enforces the maritime component of United Nations Security Council resolutions — 2375 and 2397 — designed to deter and punish North Korean ballistic missile and nuclear tests by limiting its import and export of petroleum, coal, iron, lead, and seafood products.

We invite you to try War Studies Primer – an introductory course on the study of war and military history. Its purpose is to provide an introduction to the study of war.

War Studies Primer is presented as a lecture curriculum at the university level. It is a free, non-credit, self-study course that consists of 28 topics and over 1,900 slides and is updated on a yearly basis.

Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.

To see every post you can also follow NOSI via RSS at nosi.org/feed or via email by entering your email address and clicking on the Follow button in the right hand column of the site.

You can also follow us on social media as @nosintel on Facebook at facebook.com/nosintel or on Twitter at twitter.com/nosintel

We invite you to try War Studies Primer – an introductory course on the study of war and military history. Its purpose is to provide an introduction to the study of war.

War Studies Primer is presented as a lecture curriculum at the university level. It is a free, non-credit, self-study course that consists of 28 topics and over 1,900 slides and is updated on a yearly basis.

Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.

To see every post you can also follow NOSI via RSS at nosi.org/feed or via email by entering your email address and clicking on the Follow button in the right hand column of the site.

You can also follow us on social media as @nosintel on Facebook at facebook.com/nosintel or on Twitter at twitter.com/nosintel

We invite you to try War Studies Primer – an introductory course on the study of war and military history. Its purpose is to provide an introduction to the study of war.

War Studies Primer is presented as a lecture curriculum at the university level. It is a free, non-credit, self-study course that consists of 28 topics and over 1,900 slides and is updated on a yearly basis.

Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.

To see every post you can also follow NOSI via RSS at nosi.org/feed or via email by entering your email address and clicking on the Follow button in the right hand column of the site.

You can also follow us on social media as @nosintel on Facebook at facebook.com/nosintel or on Twitter at twitter.com/nosintel

CIMSEC – The IMO’s guidelines for managing cyber risks on vessels are a key development for the shipping industry. Flag States and shipping companies worldwide now have an industry-sponsored framework from which to recurringly assess cyber safeguards on ships. There is more work to be done, however, to appropriately protect the rest of the maritime transportation system.

The ten most significant naval news stories / trends / themes this year included:

• The impact of the COVID pandemic upon naval operations this year, from the first at sea infections aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt causing it to suspend a deployment to the US Navy’s subsequent mastery of operations underway while under the threat of COVID. What lessons about living with COVID can the civilian world learn from the military world?

• The catastrophic loss of the USS Bon Homme Richard to a fire while refitting. How could this have happened and how devastating will this loss be to the future operations of the US Navy?

• The rapidly rotating leadership at the levels of the US Secretary of Defense and US Secretary of the Navy and the resulting large number of conflicting future fleet architecture studies published this year by the US Department of Defense, US Navy, and think tanks. Which one of these interesting studies – most notably the Hudson Institute’s study which begins to demonstrate the realm of the possible in regards to unmanned naval forces – will be the way forward for the US Navy?

• The complete breakdown in trust between the leadership in the US Department of Defense and US Navy and the US Congress with Congress not trusting the Navy to design manned and unmanned ships or decide its future fleet architecture or budget responsibly for it. How can trust be restored between these entities during the incoming Biden administration so the US Navy can move forward with a coherent plan to meet the rise of China?

• The continued slow rolling of the US Navy’s work on unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned surface vessels, and unmanned underwater vessels. When will the US Navy re-embrace the advice of Admiral Wayne Meyer and go back to “build a little, test a little, learn a lot” and move forward more vigorously in the unmanned domain?

• The continued Chinese build-up in the South China Sea and the steady drum beat of the US Navy’s recent FONOPS in the South China Sea in response. Will the incoming Biden administration continue to keep up the pressure up on China?

• While the Taiwan Strait remains on a slow boil as Taiwan begins to earnestly re-arm, tensions heat up in the East China Sea as well. Is China’s increased patrolling in the area a prelude to it actively challenging Japan’s sovereignty over the area?

• The solid progress being made by the US Marine Corps in fleshing out its vision for Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. Will the US Congress allow it to restructure itself and buy what it needs to accomplish this vision?

• The increasing commitment of Western navies and Coast Guards to the North – in the Arctic and the Barents Sea. Will adequate budget dollars flow to fund these new commitments?

• Wide-spread commercial undersea mining is about to get underway. What will be the consequences of this new industry for navies and naval forces?

United States Naval War College Center on Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups – This case study focuses on the evolution and development of a non-state group, Sea Shepherd, in the maritime domain. While some might argue that this organization is too small to warrant the attention of the U.S. Navy, others, including the author, argue that its cross-jurisdictional activities and international reach provide important insight into how other groups, or even states, with small maritime capabilities, might challenge international maritime norms.

We invite you to try War Studies Primer – an introductory course on the study of war and military history. Its purpose is to provide an introduction to the study of war.

War Studies Primer is presented as a lecture curriculum at the university level. It is a free, non-credit, self-study course that consists of 28 topics and over 1,900 slides and is updated on a yearly basis.

Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.

To see every post you can also follow NOSI via RSS at nosi.org/feed or via email by entering your email address and clicking on the Follow button in the right hand column of the site.

You can also follow us on social media as @nosintel on Facebook at facebook.com/nosintel or on Twitter at twitter.com/nosintel

CIMSEC – Uniting the fast-paced innovation ecosystem that flourishes within accelerators with the support and guidance of NATO, with its seven decades of experience and unparalleled resources, can be the driving force that unlocks the disruptive technologies we need to tackle the seemingly unsolvable problems in our oceans.

We invite you to try War Studies Primer – an introductory course on the study of war and military history. Its purpose is to provide an introduction to the study of war.

War Studies Primer is presented as a lecture curriculum at the university level. It is a free, non-credit, self-study course that consists of 28 topics and over 1,900 slides and is updated on a yearly basis.

Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.

To see every post you can also follow NOSI via RSS at nosi.org/feed or via email by entering your email address and clicking on the Follow button in the right hand column of the site.

You can also follow us on social media as @nosintel on Facebook at facebook.com/nosintel or on Twitter at twitter.com/nosintel

Naval News – Because it has been the world’s leading event for naval defence and maritime security for over 50 years, EURONAVAL wished to propose to its visitors and exhibitors a comprehensive study on the sector and the major trends of the world shipbuilding.