Institution-building through technology: Surveillance, AI and maritime law enforcement

Effective ocean governance and a secure maritime domain rests on at least three predicates: information, jurisdiction and a capable and willing enforcer. What brings these three predicates together are the various instruments of the law of the sea as well as regional and bilateral institutions. The spread of civilian and commercial surveillance satellites and AI-applications has led to a rapid increase in affordable surveillance data about the maritime domain, and hence an increased awareness of ship-based activities at sea. When coupled with user-friendly information-sharing tools, such technologies have the potential to profoundly shape maritime law enforcement at national and regional level. The EU, the US, India, Singapore and non-state actors have promoted the development, diffusion and use of such technologies in various contexts. This paper will introduce these technologies, illustrate how they affect maritime law enforcement at an operational level, and present some implications for operationally challenging concepts of the law of the sea. The paper argues that these technologies can bring together information, jurisdiction and a capable enforcer in a non-hierarchical and decentralized way. Thereby such technologies themselves become important and attractive institutions for ocean governance and maritime security.