Maritime security and threat assessments

Maritime security is still a challenge in international trade. In this case-study we analyze how the Norwegian Shipowners’ Mutual War Risks Insurance Association (DNK) provides Norwegian maritime companies with regional assessments of threat-levels. Through a survey and a series of interviews, we study factors that affect the communication and perception of threats, in addition to how maritime companies make security decisions regarding operating in different areas. The study concludes that the DNK and maritime companies largely have a common assessment of threat levels. Though communication between DNK and its member companies has challenges, the members largely consider DNK threat assessments to be reliable. Security decisions in maritime companies typically involve multiple actors, considerations of economy versus security, and multiple sources of security intelligence information.