Antigua and Barbuda and the United States jointly hosted a global maritime security symposium in St. John's last week, bringing together international partners to strengthen sanctions enforcement across the world's shipping sector.
The Global Maritime Security and Sanctions Enforcement Symposium ran from July 13th to 15th, co-hosted by the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Marine Services and Merchant Shipping (ADOMS). The U.S. Department of State announced the event in an official media note.
The three-day symposium drew representatives from ship registries, maritime authorities, international organisations and global coalitions spanning 26 countries. Among the participants was the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC), a key international body in maritime sanctions coordination.
Discussions centred on advancing the enforcement of non-proliferation sanctions throughout the global maritime sector, with a particular focus on cutting off revenue streams that rogue regimes use to fund weapons programmes.
The U.S. Department of State underscored the broader strategic importance of the gathering, noting that stronger international enforcement raises the cost of sanctions evasion, reduces the number of actors willing to service shadow fleet vessels and weakens the financial capacity of proliferators to sustain their weapons programmes.
The Department of State thanked the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and ADOMS for their partnership in hosting the event. It reaffirmed its commitment to working with the global maritime community to enforce non-proliferation sanctions, disrupt proliferation financing and uphold international norms.
