UNWME – Navigating Global Supply Chain

United Network of World Maritime Experts

Investigating emerging issues in maritime health, safety, security and environment

When Maritime Change Outpaces Practice

New fuels and cargoes, digital systems, climate extremes and geopolitical pressures are reshaping maritime operations.

Knowledge, standards, regulation and daily practice do not always evolve at the same pace. This can create areas of concern for health, safety, security and environmental protection.

UNWME examines where these developments may introduce new risks, expose blind spots or raise questions that deserve closer investigation. Our work builds on decades of operational maritime experience at sea and ashore.

UNWME is developing toward an independent maritime research foundation.

Areas of Concern

Continuity & Resilience

Maritime operations depend on connected supply chains, shared information and coordinated response. Disruption can move quickly across organisational boundaries, testing whether continuity arrangements still match today’s risks.

Cargo & Operational Safety

New cargoes, energy carriers and technologies are changing the risk profile on board and ashore. Documentation, handling, stowage and emergency response do not always evolve at the same pace.

Emerging Risks

Climate extremes, geopolitical instability, cyber threats, automation and AI are reshaping maritime risk. Some developments move faster than established standards, experience and response capabilities.

Human Factors & Awareness

Procedures and technology only work when people can apply them under real operating conditions. Workload, competence, communication and safety culture continue to shape HSSE outcomes.

What We Investigate

UNWME examines where dependencies between ships, ports, cargo interests, authorities and digital systems may create vulnerabilities during disruption. We look at how information, responsibility and response connect — and where closer examination may help strengthen maritime resilience.

What We Investigate

UNWME examines whether cargo information, regulation, stowage, handling and emergency response are keeping pace with changing cargo risks. Particular attention is given to dangerous goods, batteries, new energy carriers and the practical use of safety information.

What We Investigate

UNWME examines where new or rapidly changing risks may be moving ahead of established knowledge, standards or practice. The aim is to identify questions that deserve closer attention before experience is gained through serious incidents.

What We Investigate

UNWME examines how competence, fatigue, communication, organisational culture and training influence decisions in practice. We are particularly interested in why known safety lessons are not always transferred, understood or applied across organisations.

Ask UNWME

Do you see a maritime HSSE issue that deserves closer attention? Share a question, an observation from practice, or an area of concern with UNWME. Your perspective can help identify issues that deserve further investigation.