Maritime Security

The ‘law of maritime security’ is an instance of ‘securitization’ applied across various aspects of the law of the sea. The list of activities encompassed by the term is inherently non-exhaustive and lacks any common method of risk assessment. In addition, maritime security law has evolved in response to projected catastrophic or existential threats detached from any meaningful assessment of their probability. The distribution of risk in this area is driven by a combination of a projected future and the securitization of certain real, present concerns. Thus, maritime security and its effects are best understood in the context of what will be called the ‘transnational security State’ and the distortions that such a sState-centred approach imposes. Through is chapter utilises select case studies this chapter o demonstrates the manner in which maritime security has shifted the burden of risk from sStates and onto humans, especially onto people in transnational or liminal spaces.