Blue Crime
Definition of blue crime
The concept of blue crime was developed by Christian Bueger and Timothy Edmunds to provide a framework for understanding different types of maritime crime, tracing their characteristics and intersections, and building synergies for integrated responses.[1]
Blue crime is described as serious, organized crimes or offenses that take place in, on, or across the maritime domain and have the potential to inflict significant harm. The concept defines blue crime through the social, economic, and environmental harms it causes.[2]
Satizábal argues that blue crime broadly encompasses human, weapons, petrol, wildlife and drug trafficking, slavery, robbery, piracy, some forms of illegal fishing, ocean grabbing, illegal dumping of toxic materials, war-related crimes, and encroachment into marine protected areas.[3] As an umbrella concept, blue crime consists of three distinct categories, depending on how the crime relates to the sea and where its harms are felt.[2]
The first category Bueger and Edmunds define is crime against mobility. These types of crime occur at sea and directly harm trade, shipping, supply chains, and marine infrastructure. An example is piracy, but this category also includes stowaways and port-directed cyberattacks. The second category is illicit flows. These crimes occur across the sea, where the oceans serve as a conduit for moving illicit goods or humans between land-based points. The primary harms are felt onshore and include the smuggling of narcotics, weapons, wildlife, and people, as well as human trafficking and sanctions violations. The third category is environmental crimes. These crimes happen in the sea and directly damage marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and general ocean life. Examples include illicit fishing, marine pollution, illegal waste dumping, and resource extraction.[4]
Transnational organized crime at sea is an international concern, as it weakens several areas, including food security and public revenues.[1] In 2019, the UN Security Council considered transnational organized crime at sea, including crime in fisheries, a threat to international peace and security.[5] These crimes pose an immediate danger to people's lives and safety, hinder sustainable development, and threaten international peace and security.[6]
Intersections between blue crime
Bueger and Edmunds argue that different types of blue crime can share skills, resources, and criminal infrastructure. The organization of one type of maritime crime can sometimes be transferred to another, while criminal activities may rely on common practices such as money laundering, fraud, forced labor and corruption. Blue crimes can also cluster in the same geographical areas, particularly where busy trade routes, political instability or weak law enforcement create opportunities for criminal activity. Criminal networks frequently respond to changing circumstances by switching between different types of crime or moving their activities to other locations. Bueger and Edmunds argue that these connections can make it difficult to distinguish between legitimate and illicit maritime activities because criminal networks often do use the same vessels, skills, and infrastructure as the legitimate maritime economy.[2]
Root causes
Bueger and Edmunds identify seven root causes associated with maritime insecurity and blue crime:
- Geography: The location and characteristics of maritime spaces can influence opportunities for maritime crime.
- Wider Patterns of Insecurity and Violence: Crime can occur alongside instability and other forms of illegal activity.
- Weak Law Enforcement and Corruption: Limited enforcement capacity and corruption can create opportunities for maritime crime.
- Economic Dislocation: Economic, social, and legal inequality increases vulnerability to criminal recruitment.
- Cultural Acceptability and Legitimation: Criminal activities may gain local support or tolerance when presented as responses to existing injustices.
- Skills: Crime at sea requires skills such as navigation, seamanship, and boat handling, which often is available in coastal communities.
- Criminal Entrepreneurs: Criminal entrepreneurs organize maritime crime by obtaining funding, establishing logistics, and coordinating criminal networks.[2]
Bueger and Edmunds argue that these factors are often structural and that security measures focused only on activities at sea may not address the underlying conditions that enable maritime crime.[1]
Examples of Blue Crime
Piracy: The Mærsk Alabama Hijacking
The hijacking of the Mærsk Alabama in 2009 is an example of piracy. On 8 April 2009, four Somali pirates boarded the container ship off the Somali coast. The vessel became the first US victim of piracy in 200 years, and the incident attracted considerable international attention. Captain Richard Phillips was held hostage in a lifeboat for five days before US Navy snipers killed three of the pirates. The surviving pirate was later sentenced to 34 years in prison in the United States.[7] [8]
The incident has been discussed in relation to the vulnerability of international shipping to piracy. The US response contributed to counter-piracy efforts from 2009 onwards and shaped later discussions about armed guards, ransom payments and the securitization of shipping in general.[9][7]
The Mærsk Alabama case also became an example of the judicial challenges surrounding captured pirates. While the surviving pirate was prosecuted in the United States, the literature describes prosecution in Western domestic courts as difficult to scale. Regional prosecutions in countries such as Kenya and the Seychelles subsequently became an important part of the international response to Somali piracy.[8]
Maritime environmental pollution: Wakashio oil spill
The Wakashio oil spill occurred in Mauritius in 2020 after the bulk carrier Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off the southeastern coast of the country on 25th of July. The vessel was carrying several thousand tonnes of fuel oil, diesel and lubricants. Oil began leaking on 6th of August, and the vessel broke apart on 15th of August. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of oil were reported to have entered the ocean.[10][11]
The incident involved an ecologically sensitive area, including the Blue Bay Marine Park, Île aux Aigrettes, and nearby Ramsar sites. The response and rescue came from the Mauritian authorities and some international assistance, with efforts focused on containing the oil, removing fuel from the vessel, and cleaning affected coastal areas.[10]
The incident also affected coastal communities and livelihoods. Research on the spill documents impacts on fisheries and local livelihoods, as well as social and health consequences. The Wakashio therefore illustrates the environmental and social challenges that can arise from major maritime pollution incidents.[12]
Illicit Fishing: Chasing the Thunder
The FV Thunder was a fishing vessel involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The vessel operated under several different names and flags and concealed its ownership through a network of shell companies. In 2013, Interpol placed the vessel on its Purple Notice list.[13]
In December 2014, the Thunder was pursued by the Sea Shepherds vessel Bob Barker. The pursuit lasted 110 days and covered more than 10,000 nautical miles, making it one of the longest recorded pursuits of an illegal fishing vessel. During the pursuit, the Thunder was reported to have abandoned large quantities of illegal fishing gear.[14]
The pursuit ended in April 2015 when the Thunder sank off the coast of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its crew was rescued, and subsequent legal proceedings resulted in convictions of senior crew members.[15]The case has been discussed in relation to the challenges of monitoring vessels across large maritime areas and enforcing regulations against IUU fishing. [2]
Limits of the concept
Bueger and Edmunds describe the concept of blue crime as uncertain and contested, particularly regarding which illicit activities it should include and exclude. They also argue that this ambiguity can contribute to a focus on individual challenges, such as piracy or illegal fishing, rather than connections between different forms of maritime crime.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bueger, Christian; Edmunds, Timothy (1 September 2020). "Blue crime: Conceptualising transnational organised crime at sea". Marine Policy. 119. Bibcode:2020MarPo.11904067B. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104067. Unknown parameter
|article-number=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Bueger, Christian; Edmunds, Timothy (2024). Understanding Maritime Security. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0197767146. Search this book on
- ↑ Satizábal, Paula; Le Billon, Philippe; Belhabib, Dyhia; Saavedra-Díaz, Lina M.; Figueroa, Isabela; Noriega, Gina; Bennett, Nathan J. (November 2021). "Ethical considerations for research on small-scale fisheries and blue crimes". Fish and Fisheries. 22 (6): 1160–1166. Bibcode:2021FiFi...22.1160S. doi:10.1111/faf.12590.
- ↑ García Ruiz, Ascensión; South, Nigel; Brisman, Avi (March 2022). "Eco-Crimes and Ecocide at Sea: Toward a New Blue Criminology". International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. 66 (4): 407–429. doi:10.1177/0306624X20967950. PMID 33153364 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Witbooi, Emma; Ali, Kamal-Deen; Santosa, Mas Achmad; Hurley, Gail; Husein, Yunus; Maharaj, Sarika; Okafor-Yarwood, Ifesinachi; Quiroz, Inés Arroyo; Salas, Omar (December 2020). "Organized crime in the fisheries sector threatens a sustainable ocean economy". Nature. 588 (7836): 48–56. Bibcode:2020Natur.588...48W. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2913-5. PMID 33177707 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Bruwer, Carina (2020). "Smuggling and Trafficking of Illicit Goods by Sea". Global Challenges in Maritime Security. Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications: 49–73. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-34630-0_4. ISBN 978-3-030-34629-4.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kraska, James (2011). Contemporary maritime piracy: international law, strategy, and diplomacy at sea. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger. ISBN 9780313387241. Search this book on
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jonathan M D, Kenneth; Anindya, Vania; Alfiadi Farisqi, M Reval; Ul Hosna, Asmak (3 January 2025). "Legal Analysis of The Hijacking of The Maersk Alabama Ship by Somalian Robbers". Research Horizon. 5 (2): 89–96. doi:10.54518/rh.5.2.2025.481.
- ↑ Simonds, Jessica Kate (2025). Maritime Insurance, Risk and Seafarer Security: Navigating Piracy in the Indian Ocean. Routledge. ISBN 9781032664750. Search this book on
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Wakashio". environment.govmu.org.
- ↑ "Responding to MV Wakashio oil spill". www.imo.org.
- ↑ Hebbar, Anish Arvind; Dharmasiri, Ishara Gihan (15 April 2022). "Management of marine oil spills: A case study of the Wakashio oil spill in Mauritius using a lens-actor-focus conceptual framework". Ocean & Coastal Management. 221. Bibcode:2022OCM...22106103H. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106103. Unknown parameter
|article-number=ignored (help) - ↑ "Countries unite to identify illegal fishing vessel via INTERPOL". www.interpol.int.
- ↑ Milman, Oliver (7 April 2015). "Captain deliberately sank illegal fishing vessel, claim Sea Shepherd rescuers". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Guilty verdicts in the Thunder case – Stop Illegal Fishing". stopillegalfishing.com.
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