The NCLOS Blog

The NCLOS Blog

The IMO MASS Code, Flag-State Duties and the Architecture of Control 

By: Gustavo Leite Neves da Luz Maritime regulation has traditionally organised the master’s authority around a physical place: the bridge. The IMO’s new International Code of Safety for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS Code) unsettles that premise without displacing the office itself. It contemplates a human master located in a Remote Operations Centre (ROC), …

The Order That Changed More Than It Granted: The Seabed Disputes Chamber’s First Contentious Cases in NORI and TOML v. ISA

By Ekaterina Antsygina On 18 July 2026, the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Chamber) delivered its Order on the requests for the prescription of provisional measures in Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. v International Seabed Authority (Case No. 34) and Tonga Offshore Mining …

The ISA’s Proposed Advisory Opinion and the Obligations of State Parties in Respect to Unilateralism

Author: Ekaterina Antsygina The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is considering whether to request an Advisory Opinion from the ITLOS Seabed Disputes Chamber in response to unilateral deep-sea mining activities in the Area. A note by the Secretary-General (ISBA/31/A/8), submitted to the 31st session of the Assembly, proposes a request under …

Are UNCLOS States Parties Ready to Meet their Obligation to Ensure in the Face of Unilateral Deep Seabed Mining?

Author: Coalter Lathrop One emerging challenge to the rules-based international order is the exploration and exploitation of the mineral resources of the deep seabed pursuant, not to the approval of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), but to the unilateral authorization of a single state, in this case the United States …

2026 CIL-NCLOS Dialogue Symposium: Ecosystems, Security and Shipping: Regional and Global Challenges

On 18–19 November 2025, the Centre for International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore and the Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea (NCLOS) organized a closed-door dialogue on current issues and challenges in Arctic shipping, hosted by CIL in Singapore. The event was titled “Ecosystems, Security …

The Impact of Western Sanctions on the Development of Shipping on the Northern Sea Route between Russia and East Asia

Prof. Robert Beckman, Senior Advisor, Ocean Law and Policy, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore Bikashita Choudhury, Research Associate, Ocean Law and Policy, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore CIL/NCLOS Dialogue Symposium Introduction One of the “unintended consequences” of the imposition of sanctions on the Russian …

Arctic Ecosystem Governance as a Security Concern

Vito De Lucia, Professor and Director, Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea (NCLOS), Faculty of Law, UiT The Arctic University of Norway CIL/NCLOS Dialogue Symposium Introduction Arctic ecosystem governance can be fruitfully understood as a security concern, given the complex interplay between climate change, resource development, and geopolitical …

Charting the Future of Arctic Shipping: Why Navigational Rights in the Northern Sea Route Matter?

Jan Jakub Solski, Associate Professor, Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea (NCLOS), Faculty of Law, UiT The Arctic University of Norway CIL/NCLOS Dialogue Symposium Introduction Due to its geographic location, the Northern Sea Route (NSR) holds importance for both commercial and strategic reasons. While most media coverage periodically …

Black Carbon and the Heavy Fuel Oil Ban in the Arctic

Amanda Wee, Research Assistant, Ocean Law and Policy, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore Yulu Liu, Research Fellow, Ocean Law and Policy, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore CIL/NCLOS Dialogue Symposium Introduction Shipping through the Arctic has increased by 40% between 2013 and 2025 due to …

Interceptions in the high seas: from a question of legality to a question of legal (re-)ordering

By: Konstantinos Deligiannis Virvos, Vito De Lucia and Jan Jakub Solski, Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea (NCLOS), Faculty of Law, UiT The Arctic University of Norway 1.  Introduction In September 2025, the United States of America (US) launched operation “Southern Spear” which, among other actions, included a …