In these increasingly unsettled times, the maritime security sector comes closer to front of mind than usual. There are so many threats of so many different kinds in so many places that it seems the sector is heading for a major boom. It reminds me of the couple of fraught years that resulted from the 9/11 terrorist attacks of twenty years ago. Our world is very nervous and rightfully so.
As a result, we at Baird Maritime are seeing an increasing flow of new maritime security vessels and their equipment. Virtually all maritime nations are designing, building or importing new boats and ships that are often very innovative. All this, too, is set against a background of economic turmoil, thanks to Covid, and widespread demands for cleaner, greener equipment.
Those demands present an interesting dichotomy that we will try to cover this week. Technically, all those demands can be met but it is all a matter of time and price.
We present a range of craft at the smaller end of the sector from 13 to 67 metres in overall length. Two are of aluminium construction and one is a large ocean surveillance ship operated by the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force. One is a catamaran and one is a hybrid, and another boats a unique SWATH design. As always, their spread is global.
They present, as is usual with our Maritime Security Weeks, a number of interesting and innovative solutions to the problems facing owners, operators and purchasers of maritime security craft globally. I'm sure that our readers will gain many ideas from them.
– "The level of maritime domain awareness that could be achieved through a collaborative network of partner nations would make any Chinese naval presence highly vulnerable in a conflict."
– by David Brewster and Samuel Bashfield of the Australian National University
– "Hanoi remains hugely concerned over continuing Chinese moves to disrupt its fishing and mineral prospecting activity, the fortification of islets in the SCS, and the expansion of Hainan-based submarine activity."
– by Trevor Hollingsbee, Baird Maritime's maritime security expert and columnist
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Any news or views about the global maritime security sectors? Send it through to editor@baird.com.au ASAP (between now and August 20), so we can add it to this current edition of Maritime Security Week!
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