To promote its mandate of maintaining international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council has recently utilized a variety of economic sanctions tactics in the maritime sector. Concerned with maritime practices aiding the development of illicit weapons programmes, these sanctions strategies have targeted shipping activities by blacklisting vessels and companies, prohibiting certain cargo import and export, authorizing vessel inspections and interdiction, and outlawing vessel bunkering and marine insurance coverage. Although these measures are designed to promote multilateral policy goals, they also impose regulatory burdens on shipping industry participants attempting to engage in legitimate trade. This chapter explores the interplay between contemporary maritime sanctions techniques and commercial shipping practice. It first examines the sanctions tactics employed at the United Nations Security Council to target maritime practices linked to global security challenges. It then surveys efforts within commercial shipping circles to comply with and adapt to these layers of evolving regulations. |
