Arria-formula Meeting on “Safe Seas, Shared Security: Protecting Freedom of Navigation in an Evolving Security Environment”
Tomorrow afternoon (17 September), Bahrain will convene an Arria-formula meeting titled “Safe Seas, Shared Security: Protecting Freedom of Navigation in an Evolving Security Environment”. Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani is expected to chair the meeting. The anticipated briefers are UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Rania Al-Mashat, Acting Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Pedro Manuel Moreno, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping Thomas Kazakos, and Fellow at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) Christian Bueger.
The meeting will take place from 3 to 5 pm EDT in Conference Room 12 at UN Headquarters and is expected to be webcast on UNTV. In addition to Council members, interested member states are invited to take part in the meeting. Bahrain intends to produce a chair’s summary of the meeting that it will circulate to all member states.
Bahrain has prepared a concept note ahead of the meeting, which points to growing insecurity at key maritime chokepoints, marked by recent attacks and threats against commercial shipping, the use of naval mines, interference with navigation and communications systems, and risks to seafarers. It notes that disruption at one critical maritime route can quickly affect energy flows, international trade, food supply chains, and humanitarian operations. Moreover, the spillover of recent conflicts into the maritime domain has also underscored the vulnerability of critical maritime infrastructure, including ports, energy terminals, pipelines, and other facilities that support the movement of goods and energy across the region. In this context, the concept note stresses the interconnected nature of major shipping routes and the need to consider their security and resilience as part of a broader global system rather than in isolation. (For background, see the brief on maritime security in our April 2026 Monthly Forecast and 24 April What’s in Blue story.)
In recent years, several elected Council members have sought to give maritime security greater attention within the Council and have advocated for a more holistic approach that reflects the interconnected and transnational nature of maritime threats. Greece convened a high-level open debate during its May 2025 presidency on strengthening maritime security through international cooperation. Panama followed in August 2025 with another high-level open debate focused on prevention, innovation, and emerging challenges with regard to maritime security, while Bahrain again placed maritime security prominently on the agenda during its April 2026 presidency amid the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. (For background and more information, see the In Hindsight titled “The Security Council and the Changing Maritime Domain” in our September 2026 Monthly Forecast.)
The concept note also highlights the evolving nature of contemporary maritime threats, including the use of unmanned systems, cyberattacks, and other emerging technologies. It notes that these developments underscore the importance of effective maritime domain awareness, reliable information-sharing, and stronger international preparedness.
The concept note reaffirms that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides the overarching legal framework for activities at sea, while the International Maritime Organization (IMO), other UN entities, regional organisations, and private sector actors play important roles in supporting the safety and security of shipping. It argues, however, that major or prolonged disruptions to critical maritime routes raise questions about whether existing arrangements provide sufficient coordination and preparedness to respond effectively.
Against this backdrop, the concept note proposes several questions to guide the discussion, including:
- What practical measures are needed to uphold navigational rights and freedoms, including transit passage, during periods of heightened maritime insecurity?
- How can member states, the UN, the IMO, regional organisations, and the maritime industry strengthen information-sharing, early warning and coordination? In this regard, can stronger standing or rapidly deployable coordination arrangements improve preparedness and response?
- How can accountability for attacks and unlawful interference with commercial shipping be strengthened, and what elements could contribute to a broader framework for protecting and enhancing the resilience of critical maritime routes?
Speakers at tomorrow’s meeting are likely to discuss the heightened volatility in several important shipping routes, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Black Sea. In a 9 September interview, the Director of the IMO’s Maritime Safety Division, Damien Chevallier, characterised the current situation as unprecedented, noting that never before have so many vessels and seafarers faced threats simultaneously across multiple regions. He argued that “shipping has become a deliberate instrument of geopolitical leverage”, noting that “commercial vessels are increasingly treated as pressure points in disputes between states”.
Recent days have witnessed major developments in Yemen and around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital shipping waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The Houthi rebel group has made significant territorial gains along Yemen’s western coast, seizing the port city of Mocha and Mayun island, located inside the Bab al-Mandab Strait, followed by the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands. These advances have strengthened the group’s position around the strategic waterway. The Houthis have also carried out attacks against targets inside Saudi Arabia and threatened Saudi-linked commercial maritime traffic, further heightening concerns about the security of shipping and energy flows through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia launched retaliatory attacks against Houthi targets in Yemen. (For background, see our 10 September What’s in Blue story.)
The escalation comes amid wider concerns over regional energy and maritime security as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continue against the backdrop of the US-Iran conflict. On 11 September, Saudi Arabia temporarily shut its East-West oil pipeline after drone attacks damaged the infrastructure at several locations. The pipeline carries crude oil from eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and has assumed greater importance in light of disruptions affecting the Strait of Hormuz. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but reports indicated that the drones were launched from Iraq.
In the Black Sea, reciprocal attacks by Russia and Ukraine have disrupted commercial shipping during the peak grain-export season and reportedly contributed to rising global wheat prices. (For background, see our 21 August What’s in Blue story.)
At tomorrow’s meeting, Council members are expected to present differing views on how to address recent disruptions to maritime security. The discussions are likely to be coloured by the difficult dynamics surrounding the underlying conflicts, which have also been on display in negotiations on products aimed at addressing some of these crises.
Council efforts to respond to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz provide an illustrative example. On 11 March, the Security Council adopted resolution 2817, which was co-sponsored by 136 member states and condemned actions or threats by Iran aimed at closing or obstructing international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz or threatening maritime security in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The resolution affirmed that attempts to impede lawful transit passage or freedom of navigation in these waterways constitute a serious threat to international peace and security. (For more information, see our 11 March What’s in Blue story.)
However, divisions among Council members deepened over how navigation through the Strait of Hormuz might be secured. In late March, Bahrain, working closely with Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Jordan, proposed a draft resolution that initially invoked Chapter VII of the UN Charter and would have authorised member states to use “all necessary means” in and around the Strait to secure transit passage and deter attempts to obstruct international navigation.
China and Russia opposed the proposed authorisation of force, arguing that it could legitimise military action without clearly defined limits. They also contended that the draft text focused on the consequences of the crisis while failing to address what they viewed as its underlying cause—the military confrontation resulting from US and Israeli actions against Iran. Although the explicit authorisation of force was subsequently removed, China and Russia ultimately vetoed the draft, which was put to a vote on 7 April.
The US and Bahrain subsequently co-authored another draft resolution aimed at restoring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Although the text was put in blue, it was not brought to a vote amid continuing objections from China and Russia and the prospect of another veto. (For more information, see our 6 April and 5 May What’s in Blue stories.)
Council members broadly recognise the need for coherent and effective multilateral responses given the transnational nature of these challenges. Tomorrow, some members may underscore the Council’s role in responding to evolving maritime threats and the importance of international cooperation to safeguard critical shipping routes. Members are also likely to condemn attacks against merchant and commercial vessels, express concern about escalating tensions in the Middle East and around critical maritime chokepoints, denounce attacks on critical civilian infrastructure, and call for de-escalation. At the same time, differing assessments of the underlying drivers of these crises and of the measures needed to address them are likely to remain evident.
