Effective Implementation of the 2005 Convention for the Suppressionof Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation

In 2005, the 167 member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the 2005 Protocol to the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA). The resulting 2005 SUA Convention is a comprehensive treaty on maritime security that streamlines and integrates efforts to prevent and disrupt maritime terrorism. In the decade since its adoption, however, many states have not acceded to the new treaty, and most of those that have done so have not taken the steps the treaty requires to implement it effectively, even though the need to do so is perhaps even greater today. This article provides a road map for implementation of the 2005 SUA Convention to realize the vision for an effective global regime to combat maritime terrorism.