Port Policing in Times of Hybrid Warfare

Description

Due to the Russian war in Ukraine, there are fears that in response to economic sanctions against Russia, European economies risk being shut down by cyberattacks on their energy supplies and transportation (Port of Rotterdam, 2022; Ornstein, 2022; Jensen in Van Marle, 2022). Attacks on vital infrastructures and processes are timeless, but due to the growing technological development and hybrid warfare, the consequences for ports seem to be increasing. North-Western Europe, especially Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands, has several of these maritime transport hubs in Antwerp, Le Havre, Hamburg and Rotterdam. They form a part of vital infrastructures and processes because of their responsibility for shipping handling, international and national transport, and energy distribution (NCTV, 2017). If they fail or are disrupted, this can lead to a ‘serious social disruption’ (id. 1). There is a strong sense of how European internal (digital) vital infrastructures rely on countries outside of its EU borders, in this case on Russia for oil and gas, and on Ukraine for its grain (cf. Tamman et al. 2022). Fears are increasing in the port of Rotterdam, especially now that the number of sanctions against Russia has been expanded (Port of Rotterdam, 2022). Several port facilities have expressed their concerns and want a ‘digital anti-aircraft gun’ against Russian cyberattacks in the port of Rotterdam (Ornstein, 2022). Yet these non-traditional war-like attacks, make it unclear what an act of war comprises and what the role of European maritime ports are in these times of hybrid warfare. More specifically how do and should port policing and security actors relate to ports as targets of modern hybrid warfare? This paper addresses that last question, using empirical evidence from fieldwork undertaken April 2022 - March 2023 in the Dutch ports of Rotterdam and the North Sea Canal Area/Port of Amsterdam.

Period	7 Sept 2023
Event title	European Society of Criminology 2023 23rd Annual Conference Florence, Italy: The Renaissance of European Criminology
Event type	Conference
Conference number	23
Location	Florence, ItalyShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International