Critical Maritime Routes

Critical Maritime Routes By Sigurd Hess (include picture)

In 2006 the Commission of the European Union (EU) issued a Green Paper “Towards a future Maritime Policy for the Union: A European vision for the oceans and seas”. Most citizens of the EU and certainly most Germans seem to overlook the basic facts for such a maritime policy.

Europe is surrounded by many islands and by four seas: the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the North Sea and the Black Sea; and by two oceans: the Atlantic and the Arctic. This Continent is a peninsula with 70,000 km of coast – longer than that of other large landmasses such as the United States or the Russian Federation. This geographical reality means that over two thirds of the Union’s borders are coastal and that the maritime spaces under the jurisdiction of its Member States are larger than their terrestrial territory. Through its outermost regions, in addition to the Atlantic Ocean, Europe is also present in the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Shipping and ports are essential for international trade and commerce. 90% of the EU’s external trade and over 40% of its internal trade is transported by sea. Europe’s leadership in this global industry is beyond any doubt with 40% of the world fleet. 3.5 billion tonnes of cargo per year and 350 million passengers pass through European seaports. Approximately 350,000 people work in ports and related services which together generate an added value of about € 20 billion. The EU's maritime regions account for some 40% of its GDP and population. The perspectives for both these sectors are of continued growth, with world trade volume on the rise.

After consultation with the 27 Member States the Blue Book “An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union” together with the Action Plan 2007 was published. Among many other topics the Commission aims at adopting a proposal before the end of 2008 on the establishment of the “European Space for Maritime Transport without barriers” as well as a White Paper on the “EU Maritime Transport Strategy in the Horizon 2018”. This constitutes an ambitious program indeed and one can only hope that it will not be all paper but also coordinated and accelerated action.

Considering the most important and busiest sea lines of communications (SLOCs) between Europe and its largest trading partners in China, Japan and India two flash points and its connecting maritime route come into mind. The one connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Bab-el-Mandeb passage and the Horn of Africa. The other – and by the way the busiest sea route of the world – connects the Malacca and Singapore straits passing the shoals and narrow channels between the Indonesian Sumatra island and the Malaysian peninsula into the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Why are these far away SLOCs and flash points vital for Europe’s trade?

Oil and liquefied gas constitute the largest trade volume. Oil and LNG tankers are loaded at the terminals along the Persian Gulf and around the Arabian Peninsula. They navigate west to Europe via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal or east to China and Japan via the Malacca straits. Container ships move the largest trade value between Europe and China, Taiwan and Japan. According to ownership by shipping companies Germany manages the largest container fleet of the world, followed by Denmark (# 4), Greece (# 7), Great Britain (#8) and France (#9) on the European side and China (#6), Singapore (#10) and Hongkong (#13) on the Asian side. The SLOC across the Indian Ocean connects the largest container ports of Asia (Singapore, Hongkong, Shanghai) with those of Europe (Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Bremen/Bremerhaven).

Maritime security is weak at the Horn of Africa and maritime insurers consider the Malacca straits a war zone. It is important for European interests to increase security along these crucial maritime routes and to address the threat posed by piracy, terrorism and organized crime, trafficking of drugs, weapons and human slaves and migrants and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In 2004, almost 20 % of all vessels reportedly attacked by pirates and armed robbers were EU-flagged vessels.

Some argue that piracy constitutes nothing else than a money acquisition program for the terrorists, be they Al Qaida or Abu Sayyaf. The threat of piracy is increasing along the coast of Somalia. Somalia is a weak state and seems to be unable to exercise maritime security inside its coastal and littoral waters. The latest spectacular case in point was the hijacking of the French luxury cruise sailing ship “Le Ponant” on 04 April 2008. French and Canadian frigates and helicopters from the NATO-operation “Enduring Freedom” shadowed and reconnoitered the pirates. After the shipping company CMA-CGA had paid the ransom and the 30 crewmembers were released, French commando troupes caught six pirates and recovered part of the ransom money. The threat of piracy is decreasing in the Malacca straits because regional security arrangements like the Cooperation Agreement Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), the sea surveillance by naval patrols of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (MALSINDO) and the respective air surveillance operation “Eyes in the Sky” were signed and launched in 2005/06.

The EU Commission executed the project “Expert Support Facility (ESF)” relative to the so- called Instruments for Stability (IfS) for the implementation of article 4(1) “Counteracting Global and Transregional Threats” and article 4(2) “Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction”. The objectives of the study project “Critical Maritime Routes” are to propose actions for the increase of security and safety levels in littoral spaces at the Horn of Africa, around the Arabian Peninsula and along the Malacca straits. The end result, if implemented, should not only increase the level of security along the mentioned sea lanes but also reduce pressures on the EU Member States, as “users” of the critical maritime routes, to pay for their security.

The initiatives of the EU Commission towards a future maritime policy for the Union are recommendable. The results of the study projects will be included in the Annual Action Plan 2009. One can only hope that the pace of the program will be sustained and the coordination between these and similar programs of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) and the future strategy of the European navies concerning their role in preventing and combating piracy, terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction be intensified.

(March 2008)