Confronting International Organized Crime At Sea: Legal Enforcement And Jurisdictional Complexities
- IJLLR Journal
- Dec 20, 2025
- 1 min read
Samyuktha Sree, SRM School of Law
1. List of Abbreviations
UNCLOS – United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
IMO – International Maritime Organization
UNTOC – United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
EEZ – Exclusive Economic Zone
ITLOS – International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
ICC – International Criminal Court
2. Introduction
The world’s oceans covering more than 70% of the Earth surface which play a crucial role in global trade, energy security, and connectivity. However, The sea has always been both a highway of global trade and a peril of organised and unorganised crimes i.e piracy, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal fishing. This challenges arise because the ocean is a shared global space of all sovereign states where sovereignty is fragmented and often contested Which Overlaps maritime claims with weak enforcement capacity and political hesitation among states to cooperate and create significant barriers towards effective legal action. Criminal networks take advantage of these loopholes by conducting operations in international waters, registering ships under flags of convenience, and moving their activities across jurisdictions to evade prosecution. Although international framework such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provide a foundation for maritime governance with their enforcement is uneven and jurisdictional ambiguities persist. As a result combating transnational organised crime at sea requires not only stronger international legal mechanisms but also enhanced cooperation among states to overcome jurisdictional and enforcement complexities.
This paper examines the legal enforcement and jurisdictional complexities in confronting international organised crime at sea, analysing the role of international law, enforcement mechanisms, and judicial interpretations.
