Demystifying Maritime Governance

Project Summary

Clear Seas partnered with a team at Dalhousie University and the Memorial University of Newfoundland on a multi-part project to help increase knowledge of maritime governance in Canada. The research sought to add clarity around the different pillars of maritime governance and to analyze drivers of change in the existing system. It also explored emerging issues, needs and approaches for consideration in effective governance of shipping.

Clear Seas supported the creation of a series of resources to help inform decision-makers, rights holders, stakeholders, and the public on the governance of shipping. This includes a comprehensive, multi-part report that breaks down the global and domestic structures, frameworks, actors, interconnections, and processes involved in maritime governance.

Table of Contents

• Preface
  Provides historical and modern context for the governance of shipping
• Part 1: Fundamentals of maritime governance
  Explains the fundamentals of maritime governance within some international context
• Part 2: The international legal framework for shipping
  Explains the legal framework that maritime governance instruments are structured around
• Part 3: The international institutions of maritime governance
  Describes the international institutional framework of organizations that support maritime governance
• Part 4: The governance of shipping in Canada
  Describes the domestic components of maritime governance in Canada and how it is delivered and enforced

Key Takeaway

The knowledge and resources made accessible through this project will help to improve the collective understanding of how marine shipping is governed in Canada and beyond. A deeper understanding of the legal and institutional structures involved in the governance of shipping helps support informed decision-making and dialogues among leaders, industry members, Indigenous and coastal communities, and the public.

Presentation of Results

Watch the research team introduce the study and discuss the report’s highlights and conclusions:

• Word of welcome
• Project context and overview
• Moderated panel and Q&A

A summary presentation of the project and its key findings can be downloaded here.

Related Articles

Read more about the contemporary issues related to the governance of marine shipping:

Stranded at Sea: Covid-19 and its Toll on Mariners

Is Marine Spatial Planning the Key to Safer and Healthier Oceans?

Maritime Search and Rescue and Shipping Risk: How Does it Work in Canada?

Reconciliation in Canada’s Marine Shipping Industry (II)