Curbing “Dark” Activity at Sea: The Role of the Marine Insurance Industry

Some fishing vessels breach maritime laws by operating with their mandatory tracking systems (Automatic Identification System (AIS)) switched off. Marine insurers act as enablers of this practice since these vessels cannot operate without insurance. This article explores why insurers in England take...

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Main Author: Priyal Bunwaree
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press
Series:European Journal of Risk Regulation
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1867299X25000157/type/journal_article
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author Priyal Bunwaree
author_facet Priyal Bunwaree
author_sort Priyal Bunwaree
collection DOAJ
description Some fishing vessels breach maritime laws by operating with their mandatory tracking systems (Automatic Identification System (AIS)) switched off. Marine insurers act as enablers of this practice since these vessels cannot operate without insurance. This article explores why insurers in England take on the risk of insuring them and assesses how the insurers are operating against the regulatory framework in doing so. It identifies the solutions that could raise standards in marine insurance and lead to increased legal compliance by the insured vessels. This would consequently enhance maritime safety, while increasing transparency in fisheries across all oceans. Importantly, by discouraging vessels from going dark, any illegal activities underlying the non-transmission of AIS data, such as human, drug or weapon trafficking, illegal fishing or sanctions evasion, would also be curbed.
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institution Kabale University
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series European Journal of Risk Regulation
spelling doaj-art-cd3b9ee232194ecba94ee84983fef5ae2025-08-20T13:13:32ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Journal of Risk Regulation1867-299X2190-824911810.1017/err.2025.15Curbing “Dark” Activity at Sea: The Role of the Marine Insurance IndustryPriyal Bunwaree0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3697-7046Barrister, Blue Marine Foundation, London, UKSome fishing vessels breach maritime laws by operating with their mandatory tracking systems (Automatic Identification System (AIS)) switched off. Marine insurers act as enablers of this practice since these vessels cannot operate without insurance. This article explores why insurers in England take on the risk of insuring them and assesses how the insurers are operating against the regulatory framework in doing so. It identifies the solutions that could raise standards in marine insurance and lead to increased legal compliance by the insured vessels. This would consequently enhance maritime safety, while increasing transparency in fisheries across all oceans. Importantly, by discouraging vessels from going dark, any illegal activities underlying the non-transmission of AIS data, such as human, drug or weapon trafficking, illegal fishing or sanctions evasion, would also be curbed.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1867299X25000157/type/journal_articledark vesselsdue diligenceinsurance
spellingShingle Priyal Bunwaree
Curbing “Dark” Activity at Sea: The Role of the Marine Insurance Industry
European Journal of Risk Regulation
dark vessels
due diligence
insurance
title Curbing “Dark” Activity at Sea: The Role of the Marine Insurance Industry
title_full Curbing “Dark” Activity at Sea: The Role of the Marine Insurance Industry
title_fullStr Curbing “Dark” Activity at Sea: The Role of the Marine Insurance Industry
title_full_unstemmed Curbing “Dark” Activity at Sea: The Role of the Marine Insurance Industry
title_short Curbing “Dark” Activity at Sea: The Role of the Marine Insurance Industry
title_sort curbing dark activity at sea the role of the marine insurance industry
topic dark vessels
due diligence
insurance
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1867299X25000157/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT priyalbunwaree curbingdarkactivityatseatheroleofthemarineinsuranceindustry