“WITHOUT maritime security, there can be no global security”.

Those were the cautioning words of the UN secretary-general António Guterres as he opened the floor of the Security Council in New York on Tuesday.

But his words appeared to have fallen on deaf ears.

During the next few hours Russia accused Nato and the EU of being “pirates” and threatened to defend ships by force in the Baltic. China accused the US of undermining maritime security in the South China Sea; and the US threatened first Iran and then returned the favour to China by accusing them of being a threat to global security.

If the Greek prime minister genuinely thought he could use his UN presidency as an opportunity to further maritime debate at the highest level, then he failed miserably.

Union of Greek Shipowners president Melina Travlos was there in defence of an industry caught in geopolitical crossfire.

Shipping is increasingly being weaponised — economically, politically and physically, she explained, but if she was expecting anyone to leap to her defence then she was sorely mistaken.

The global political power brokers present nodded in agreement, then pointed the finger of blame at each other.

The ignominious “debate” laid bare the disintegrating state of the rules-based order upon which shipping’s global trade navigates.

Maritime security is not a new concern for the UN high chambers, but as Guterres himself admitted, maritime security is increasingly a problem and it’s getting worse. And despite what Russia says, this is not just a case of Western hypocrisy and “illegal sanctions”.

Issues like piracy seem somehow quaint in the current climate, but after a modest global decrease in reported piracy and armed robbery incidents in 2024, the first quarter of 2025 saw a sharp upward reversal — 48% according to the latest figures.

Incidents in Asia nearly doubled — especially in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. In the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, attacks by the Houthis on commercial vessels have disrupted global trade and increased tensions in an already volatile region. The Gulf of Aden and the Mediterranean remain treacherously active routes for migrant smuggling and the trafficking of weapons and human beings.

The Gulf of Guinea continues to grapple with, not just piracy, but kidnappings, armed robbery at sea, oil theft, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and the illicit trafficking of drugs, weapons and people. Heroin from Afghanistan continues to reach East Africa through the Indian Ocean. Cocaine moves through the coasts of the Western hemisphere and across the Atlantic Ocean to West Africa and European ports. And cyber attacks are a fast-emerging security threat for ports and shipping companies.

All this would be complicated enough if it were not for the dispiriting fact that the governments best equipped to address maritime security, are the ones accusing each other of undermining the fundamental tenets of global trade.

Russia’s characterisation of Nato states as the “newly minted pirates of the Baltic” may have added political drama at the expense of factual accuracy, but their conclusion should be taken seriously.

The erosion of maritime security, attacks on freedom of navigation and aggressive disruption of maritime trade, all comes with consequences.

“Global supply chains would be disrupted, and maritime trade would simply grind to a halt… This path leads directly to military escalation and to serious, serious threats being posed to maritime security,” was the warning issued by Russia.

Perhaps someone was listening to Guterres after all.

Richard Meade
Editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s List