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EU Statement – UN Security Council: Open debate on Maritime Security

11.08.2025
New York
Press and information team of the Delegation to the UN in New York

11 August 2025, New York – Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States by H.E. Ambassador Hedda Samson, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, at the UN Security Council Open Debate on "Maritime security: Prevention, innovation and international cooperation to address emerging challenges"

 

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  1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. 

     

  2. The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Serbia*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina* and Georgia align themselves with this statement.

  3. First of all, I would like to thank the Panama Presidency of the Council for convening this debate on such an important issue as well as the briefers. It is particularly timely after the adoption by more than 170 countries of a declaration at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice committing to urgent action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean. In the immediate aftermath, the EU announced its own European Ocean Pact with maritime security as one of the pillars at its core.

  4. International law – with the UN Charter at its core – must be upheld on land and at sea. The EU and its Member States are strongly committed to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which sets out the universal and unified legal framework within which all activities in oceans and seas must be carried out. Its provisions reflect customary international law and are thus binding on all States, irrespective of whether they have acceded to the Convention or not.

  5. In October 2023, the EU adopted a Revised Maritime Security Strategy with an accompanying Action Plan to address various maritime security challenges, including hybrid and cyber threats. The overall aim is to strengthen collaboration between stakeholders across all sectors, civilian as well as military, both within the EU and globally.

  6. The EU expresses its deep concern for the recurrence of violence against merchant and commercial ships which is both alarming and deeply regrettable. These attacks not only endanger the lives of seafarers but also disrupt global trade and have potentially severe consequences for the climate and marine environment. They also underline the importance of bolstering efforts to enhance maritime security. 

  7. In this vein, the EU is an important contributor to maritime security through its naval operations: EU Naval Force ATALANTA fights piracy in the Western Indian Ocean; EU Naval Force ASPIDES protects merchant vessels in the Red Sea; EU Naval Force IRINI helps enforce the UN arms embargo on Libya.

  8. Beyond that, international cooperation is key to the EU’s maritime security approach. The EU is committed to support partners to bolster maritime security architectures across the world. 

  9. We have elevated maritime information sharing globally through the EU-funded Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing (IORIS) platform, used by over 50 countries from East Africa to Latin America, and through the EU-funded Yaoundé Architecture Regional Information System (YARIS) enabling maritime surveillance and coordination between the maritime coordination centers of the 19 Gulf of Guinea countries and of the Yaoundé Architecture.

  10. We also welcome the EU-funded collaboration between UNODC and the Malta-based Global Centre for Maritime Sanctions Enforcement, also known as the ‘Spinola Center’. With this initiative we are providing capacity building, training, vessel tracking and analysis to shipping registries. 

  11. For this reason, we support the collaborative efforts of the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) founded by flag registries of Panama, Liberia, and the Marshall Islands to combat the practice of “flag hopping” and other illicit practices. We look forward to the future collaboration between RISC and the Spinola centre. 

  12. We are particularly grateful to the IMO and to its Secretary General, His Excellency Arsenio Dominguez, for their ongoing work to prevent unlawful operations, including those involving substandard vessels. IMO Resolution A.1192 (33) against the “dark fleet” or “shadow fleet” is an important step for engagement with the international maritime community. With this common framework we can tackle together widespread use of substandard vessels. Threats to maritime safety and to the marine environment are global concerns. 

  13. Finally, the EU would like to recall the importance of strengthening the security and resilience of critical maritime infrastructure, including submarine cables, which form the backbone of internet and international connectivity on which our societies rely. With the EU Action Plan on Cable Security of February 2025, we are taking action to prevent and detect incidents, to respond and repair any damage rapidly, and to deter malicious actors.

Thank you. 


 

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.