SEABORNE SURVEILLANCE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS OF ITS APPLICATION IN THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW OF THE SEA

Abstract

Challenges to maritime security are a global challenge. Piracy, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, smuggling, maritime terrorism, and environmental crime create instability relations to the high seas and to the governance and use of oceans. Traditional means of surveillance, such as radar, coastal patrol and the Automatic Identification System (AIS) lack the capacity to deal with the transnational and complex modern maritime threats. New developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) such as machine learning, computer vision, predictive analytics, and autonomous unmanned systems offer a pathway to enhance maritime surveillance and to enforce the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The proposed research will investigate the intersection of technological innovation and global ocean law, as a empirical investigation of the use of applications of AI technology in maritime security surveillance, how they fit within the UNCLOS regime, and the legal, technical and ethical challenges posed by these technologies. The research will examine cases studies drawn from the European Union, United States, Asia-Pacific, Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Guinea, and Arctic, and will comparative analysis across multiple types of governance that range from institutionalized and legal to security, cooperative, and dependency-based. AI facilitates the capacity of states to take action to implement UNCLOS provisions by proactive action, enhanced environmental surveillance, and improved search and rescue. Discussions around accountability, liability, jurisdiction, and algorithmic bias call for the establishment of a global regulatory framework urgently. The research identified key gaps in respect to accountability mechanism, regional variations, and ethics, and corresponds them to the proposal for harmonized legal-tech framework and an AI Accountability Protocol through the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The research makes both theoretical and practical contributions. From the perspective of theoretical contribution, this work adds to the literature by situating AI within a hybrid governance model of law, technology and ethics. From the practical contribution perspective, the work provides concrete recommendations for policymakers and international institutions, including capacity building for states with developing capabilities, data standardization, explainable AI models, and surveillance coalitions. Incorporating the technical capacity with the ability to be enforced in law demonstrated that AI can be a fit foundational building block for 21st century maritime governance-increasing compliance with international law while making global maritime commons as safer, sustainable and fairer.