MARITIME STRAITS IN A CHANGING WORLD ORDER

The Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of the world's oil and gas transits, is among the most strategically vital and legally contested maritime chokepoints on the planet. Recent years have witnessed escalating incidents threatening freedom of navigation, vessel seizures, and competing sovereignty claims that test the resilience of the international legal order underpinned by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and customary international law.

In this webinar, WMU faculty will engage with Professor James Kraska, Chair and Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Maritime Law in the Stockton Center for International Law at the Naval War College, posing questions that explore the current state of international law as it applies to the Strait of Hormuz and comparable maritime chokepoints. The discussion will cover the legal regimes governing transit passage and innocent passage, the rights and duties of coastal and flag states in maritime straits, and how great-power competition, regional instability, and the fragmentation of multilateral institutions are challenging established norms.

The session will further examine the implications for global trade, energy security, seafarers, and the maritime industry, including shipping companies, insurers, and port operators, of a potentially shifting legal landscape at key chokepoints, as well as the role of international organizations and diplomatic mechanisms in safeguarding freedom of navigation in an era of heightened geopolitical risk.
 

MODERATORS
Associate Professor Khanssa Lagdami, Maritime Labour Law and Policy (ITF Seafarers' Trust), World Maritime University  
Professor Henning Jessen, Maritime Law and Digital Change (Nippon Foundation Chair), World Maritime University

FEATURED SPEAKER
Professor James Kraska, Chair and Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Maritime Law in the Stockton Center for International Law at the Naval War College 

 

AGENDA
14:00 – 14:05
Welcome and Introduction: Associate Professor Khanssa Lagdami & Professor Henning Jessen, World Maritime University

14:05 – 14:15
Opening Remarks: Professor Maximo Q. Mejia Jr., President, World Maritime University

14:15 – 14:30
Keynote Presentation: What is the future of the strait of Hormuz and other maritime chokepoints? Professor James Kraska

14:30 – 14:55
Discussion:  Moderated by Associate Professor Khanssa Lagdami & Professor Henning Jessen
14:55 – 15:00

Closing Remarks:  Associate Professor Khanssa Lagdami

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The webinar will address the following points:
1.  The legal regime of transit passage and innocent passage under UNCLOS
2.  Sovereignty claims and the rights of coastal states in maritime waters
3.  Freedom of navigation: recent incidents and their legal implications
4.  Geopolitical pressures and the erosion of multilateral norms
5.  Impact on global trade, energy security, and the maritime industry
6.  The future of international law and chokepoint governance