Next Monday, July 13, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne will open the Second Annual Global Maritime Security and Sanctions Enforcement Symposium, a three-day international gathering taking place at the St. James’s Club that brings together maritime leaders, senior government officials, and industry specialists to ramp up global collaboration against transnational illegal maritime activity and strengthen cross-border sanctions enforcement.
The event is co-organized by Antigua and Barbuda’s Department of Marine Services and Merchant Shipping (ADOMS) and the U.S. Department of State, with technical backing from Sandia National Laboratories. Around 100 delegates from every region of the globe are expected to attend, including senior representatives from ship registries, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC), the Global Centre for Maritime Sanctions Monitoring (GCMSM), the Maritime UN Sanctions Enforcement (MUSE) initiative, and dozens of other international maritime bodies and law enforcement agencies.
As the cabinet minister with oversight for merchant shipping and ports, Prime Minister Browne will use his opening address to reaffirm Antigua and Barbuda’s long-standing commitment to upholding one of the world’s most trusted, regulation-compliant ship registries, while advancing collective global action to protect the integrity of the international maritime sector.
Browne will emphasize that rigorous flag State compliance, systematic due diligence, and transparent regulatory frameworks are non-negotiable to shield global commerce from sanctions evasion, fraudulent vessel registration, and a growing range of other transnational illegal maritime activities. He will also recognize ADOMS for its work to build out a comprehensive national compliance system that has drastically reinforced the credibility of Antigua and Barbuda’s ship registry and cut the nation’s exposure to regulatory risk.
In a note of emphasis for small island developing states, Browne will tell delegates that geographic size and population do not limit a nation’s ability to lead on pressing global challenges. Antigua and Barbuda, a SIDS, has emerged as a proactive actor in global maritime governance, he will argue, pointing to the nation’s expanding role in shaping international maritime policy through strategic partnerships with the United States and other key global stakeholders. He will also highlight the country’s consistent participation in multilateral initiatives designed to strengthen sanctions enforcement and crack down on fraudulent maritime practices.
The Prime Minister will also welcome the IMO’s recently finalized guidelines targeting fraudulent ship registration and rogue registries, framing the new rules as a critical step toward closing long-standing regulatory gaps and lifting industry-wide global standards.
Outlining the urgent need for this year’s symposium, Browne will highlight that the global maritime sector now faces increasingly complex, evolving threats: these include widespread sanctions evasion, the rapid growth of unregulated “shadow fleets”, fraudulent vessel registration, and deceptive shipping practices that erode global security and undercut fair market competition. He will urge attending delegates to leverage the symposium’s collaborative format to deepen cross-border coordination, share actionable intelligence, and co-develop practical solutions that embed greater transparency and accountability across every segment of the maritime supply chain.
Browne will restate Antigua and Barbuda’s unwavering commitment to multilateral cooperation, pointing to the country’s status as a founding member of the GCMSM and its long-standing support for RISC – two initiatives that prioritize rapid, targeted information sharing to identify and preempt illegal maritime activity before it causes harm. He will stress that cross-border collaboration and open information exchange remain the most powerful tools available to counter bad actors operating within the global shipping system.
Over the course of the three-day event, attendees will take part in technical briefings and interactive collaborative workshops focused on the most pressing emerging threats to maritime security. Key topics include Automatic Identification System (AIS) spoofing, updated due diligence protocols for vessel registration, cross-border sanctions compliance, structured intelligence sharing, and evidence-based best practices for strengthening flag State regulatory oversight.
The government of Antigua and Barbuda has extended a formal welcome to all visiting delegates from the international maritime community, and reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to working alongside global partners to advance maritime safety, strengthen global sanctions enforcement, promote industry transparency, and uphold the highest standards of regulatory compliance across the international shipping sector.