[00:00:01] James Merten: maritime operations, they form the circulatory system of global trade.
[00:00:06] James Merten: Roughly 90% of internationally traded goods move via the ocean or the sea, which is an astonishing figure that underscores how dependent modern economies are efficient and resilient. [00:00:20]
[00:00:21] Kyle King: Hi everyone. Welcome to the Crisis Lab podcast, where we are going to deep dive a little bit more into global crisis management response strategies and resilience planning. I'm your host, Kyle, and today I'm joined by our special guest to James Merten who's going to. To help us explore the complex world of maritime disruptions and the far reaching impacts in our globalized [00:00:40] society.
[00:00:40] Kyle King: So James is an expert in maritime crisis management, bringing years of experience and insight to our conversation today. And we'll be discussing a number of wide ranging topics, but things like ocean shipping and how that carries over 90% of world trade. And making maritime operations crucial to our global economy and our daily lives.
[00:00:59] Kyle King: [00:01:00] And so in today's episode, we'll examine how maritime crises unfold, the challenges of coordinating a response across multiple jurisdictions and innovative approaches to building resilience in this vital sector. So we'll explore everything from governance frameworks to practical on the ground operations during emergencies.
[00:01:15] Kyle King: whether you're a seasoned maritime professional, policymaker, or just curious about this [00:01:20] topic and how global shipping affects your daily life. Stay tuned as we discuss this and more with James and his insights that will change how you think about crisis management on the high seas itself.
[00:01:30] Kyle King: So James, welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:33] James Merten: Hey, thanks Kyle. I'm really happy to be here.
[00:01:36] Kyle King: So before we dive into some questions and things like that and start unpacking this area [00:01:40] of expertise uh, maybe just a quick background from, about who you are and where you're coming from.
[00:01:44] James Merten: Yeah, thanks for that. My name is James Merten.
[00:01:46] James Merten: I am a port security specialist for recovery and salvage, and I work for the United States Coast Guard as a civilian. And I'm also a PhD student at the University of Antwerp, and at the, this moment, I'm combining my practical [00:02:00] experience with my work that I do with the Coast Guard with academic experience.
[00:02:04] James Merten: And I'm also able to get Global experience by going to school in Belgium.
[00:02:10] Kyle King: Alright, great. That's quite the international education and so as with all of our podcast, the guests on our show are basically expressing your own personal opinions and sharing insights and perspectives and are not [00:02:20] representative of our organizations and other things like that.
[00:02:22] Kyle King: I think everybody knows the deal now. We're just interested in sharing perspectives and experiences on the Crisis Lab podcast. So let's start with the basics. Many listeners might not realize how maritime operations affect their everyday lives. I think we have a general assumption, working assumption because the pandemic, and we've seen [00:02:40] like the blockage of the Suez canal and discussions about the Panama Canal in recent months.
[00:02:44] Kyle King: could you give us a snapshot of why ports and the broader maritime world is so crucial and why disruptions there actually ripple through everything from the price of coffee to the availability of phone chargers, for example.
[00:02:57] James Merten: Yeah, great. Great question. So maritime [00:03:00] operations, they form the circulatory system of global trade.
[00:03:04] James Merten: Roughly 90% of internationally traded goods move via the ocean or the sea, which is an astonishing figure that underscores how dependent modern economies are efficient and resilient. Maritime logistics ports are not just sites of cargo transfer, [00:03:20] they're also intermodal gateways for goods and services and labor and capital all converge.
[00:03:25] James Merten: The average consumer might not realize that the components of their smartphone may have crossed three continents before assembly. The coffee we drink may be sourced from Latin America, transported through the Panama Canal, and arrive at a North American port before reaching [00:03:40] the shelf.
[00:03:41] James Merten: This vast interconnected network is highly efficient, but also vulnerable to disruption. When maritime systems are interrupted, whether due to natural hazards like hurricanes, labor disputes cybersecurity breaches or regulatory delays, the ripple effects cascade rapidly. A delay at a single [00:04:00] transshipment hub in Asia or on the west coast of the United States can disrupt factory assembly lines in the Midwest or retail stock levels across Europe.
[00:04:09] James Merten: These disruptions not only increase the cost of goods, but also challenge the just-in-time inventory systems that we all see today affecting everything from industrial output to consumer choice. So [00:04:20] in essence, maritime operations underpin the reliability and affordability of modern life.
[00:04:26] Kyle King: I think that there's.
[00:04:28] Kyle King: A reference point for most people, understanding the pandemic and the effects of the pandemic. And then we probably broadly recall like, you know, the Suez Canal being blocked but you know, There's also the aspect of when people hear maritime [00:04:40] crisis you might think of also about likethe pirate situation around the Horn of Africa.
[00:04:45] Kyle King: Or oil spills that are in the news, but what actually counts as a maritime crisis today, given that we were just talking about the just in time supply chain, which was a beautiful idea, but is now really introduced some weaknesses into our [00:05:00] society and may maybe while you're explaining that a little bit more, what are some recent examples that have caught your attention?
[00:05:06] James Merten: Yeah. You know everybody, first off, everybody loves a good pirate story.
[00:05:10] Kyle King: Exactly right.
[00:05:11] James Merten: pirates, the Caribbean is really popular for that exact reason. you know, The term maritime crisis has really evolved significantly. While piracy and pollution events [00:05:20] still draw headlines. Contemporary maritime crisis often involves systemic disruptions that affect global commerce, infrastructure, resilience, or public safety.
[00:05:31] James Merten: A maritime crisis today can range from kinetic, such as vessel collisions, groundings, or fires to structural, such as cyber attacks on port operating systems, [00:05:40] prolonged labor strikes or cascading supply chain failures caused by weather events. One compelling example, is the motor vessel ever given that was stuck in the Suez canal.
[00:05:50] James Merten: That was in 2021, halted approximately 12% of global trade for nearly a week. The economic losses were estimated in the billions and the [00:06:00] impact reverberated for months. More recently I've worked with an incident in the Columbia River where the motor vessel Daphne had an incident in which containers loaded with lithium ion batteries collapsed in the hole during the storm, fireworks were stored above deck, compounding the risk.
[00:06:15] James Merten: Though this event occurred far from a major port, the salvage planning, [00:06:20] stakeholder coordination and risk mitigation required were extensive and illustrative of the kinds of complex maritime crisis emerging today. Modern crisis also include non-physical threats such as ransomware attacks that paralyzed port operations or data integrity failures that affect cargo tracking and customs [00:06:40] processes.
[00:06:40] Kyle King: Yeah, that was already four years ago. that's amazing. I was thinking it was just a couple of years ago, but it's already been four years for the Suez Canal, but you know. okay. So when a crisis strikes at sea, as you mentioned, or even in the port, we often hear about multiple agencies stepping in.
[00:06:54] Kyle King: The ports, the critical infrastructure. There are multiple, not only state, but federal agencies [00:07:00] involved, even international organizations, but it's rarely just one group. Like I was just saying, it's everybody from Port Authorities Coast Guard.
[00:07:06] Kyle King: And even international bodies, The IMO. Could you break down how this patchwork of governance actually works, how it sort of layers together and why it's so challenging to align them, especially in these more critical politicized, high [00:07:20] stakes environments
[00:07:21] James Merten: Yeah, that's a good question. So the governance structure for maritime crises is really highly decentralized and inherently complex and involves actors from municipal, national, and international levels. At the local level, port authorities manage infrastructure, lease agreements and logistics coordination.
[00:07:39] James Merten: They often serve [00:07:40] as the first responders to disruptions affecting terminal operations. Nationally, coast guards or maritime administrations are responsible for safety, security, and environmental enforcement In the United States. the US Coast Guard acts as the federal on scene coordinator.
[00:07:54] James Merten: For oil and hazardous material incidents, while also managing different maritime [00:08:00] security zones and safety zones depending on the incidents internationally, the International Maritime Organization or the IMO set state safety and environmental standards for vessels while treaties, such as solace and marble shape vessel construction, cargo transport, and emergency preparedness.
[00:08:18] James Merten: The challenge though, lies in aligning [00:08:20] these entities, especially during time sensitive. Multi causal events cascading events, even differing authorities priorities and risk perceptions can create bottlenecks in decision making. For example while a Port authority might prioritize reopening birth space, a national agency might be focused on environmental protection or public health.
[00:08:39] James Merten: [00:08:40] International stakeholders may emphasize vessel compliance and continuity of trade, the lack of shared information systems. differing terminology of each organization and unaligned contingency planning frameworks further. Complicate matters. Success though depends on pre-established coordination mechanisms, clear command structures and mutual trust, [00:09:00] which is the key element.
[00:09:01] James Merten: In fact, I have some colleagues at the University of Anthwarp that are researching trust in government agencies and it's really eye-opening to see how important it really is. And that trust though, in this case. Is built through joint exercises, support, security committees, and shared crisis communication channels.
[00:09:18] Kyle King: Let's stay on that topic for just a [00:09:20] second. 'cause my next question would really be about okay, so we talked about the layers of governance and the institutional frameworks that they might have and the working assumptions that they might have about an incident and who's doing what and where, for example.
[00:09:32] Kyle King: what really happens. On the ground when a huge storm hits. is there a gap? I guess this is really the core of my question, is there a gap [00:09:40] between all of these frameworks and these things we've implemented as an institution, which are a positive thing, right? But there's always gonna be a gap on the ground.
[00:09:48] Kyle King: And so what really happens when that huge storm does hit and what causes a gap? And then how do professionals bridge that gap? And you mentioned trust as well, right? So there's gotta be some. decision making that [00:10:00] require elements of trust to be able to change plans on the ground as events, change, right?
[00:10:05] James Merten: Yeah. There's often a significant gap between theoretical frameworks and the operational realities that are faced during maritime crisis, right? the Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction, for example, is an excellent strategic [00:10:20] document. That outlines four priority areas right, understanding disaster risk, strengthening governance, investing in resilience, and enhancing disaster preparedness.
[00:10:28] James Merten: However, translating those priorities into practical port specific action plans is really challenging. several factors contribute to that gap. The first is many ports, particularly small [00:10:40] and medium sized ones. Lack the resources to fully implement complex resilience frameworks. Second risk assessments are often incomplete or fail to incorporate compound and cascading threats, such as a storm that disrupts electricity, which in turn disables port security systems and causes a cyber bridge.
[00:10:57] James Merten: Third, human factors [00:11:00] such as turnover. Lack of training or operating in institutional silos, those can limit the utility of high level plans in a dynamic situation. To bridge this gap, however, professionals need to operationalize resilience, and that means conducting realistic tabletop and full scale exercises, integrating port emergency [00:11:20] plans with municipal and national systems, and developing performance based indicators.
[00:11:25] James Merten: Help decision makers track recovery in real time, bridging theory slash practice divide also involves fostering culture of adaptive learning, where after action reports lead to tangible changes in policy and procedure rather than, as we know, most after [00:11:40] action reports sit idle on the shelf.
[00:11:42] Kyle King: Well, Let's talk about the impact assessment then. 'cause you mentioned a number of different variables, and so ports just don't handle cargo, right? They employ large communities. You even said that they're small, medium, and large ports and sometimes become vital lifelines of humanitarian aid.
[00:11:56] Kyle King: So how do you balance the urgency to get the global trade back online, which is [00:12:00] an economic imperative with the needs of local residents or relief operations when a big disruption hits these areas.
[00:12:07] James Merten: Yeah, balancing the imperatives of global trade continuity with the humanitarian and economic needs of local communities is probably one of the most ethically and operationally complex aspects of port recovery.[00:12:20]
[00:12:20] James Merten: Ports are often the economic nucleus of their regions, employing thousands of workers generating tax revenues and sustaining local businesses. However, simultaneously ports are indispensable for delivering relief supplies and coordinating evacuations in disaster prone areas The initial focus might be on life safety or [00:12:40] environmental stabilization and restoration of critical infrastructure. Once that baseline is achieved, the recovery phase must include prioritized reopening of terminals that support both humanitarian operations and time sensitive trade flows. This requires close coordination with emergency management, agencies [00:13:00] customs authorities, and some NGOs to navigate this tension effectively.
[00:13:04] James Merten: Ports, and port officials should pre-established prioritization frameworks. Identify which cargo types and which terminals serve critical lifeline functions. Public-private coordination bodies, can serve as neutral conveners to ensure that recovery [00:13:20] plans are equitable, and data informed, and that everybody has a seat at the table.
[00:13:24] James Merten: So you bring in the entire group and then the group could work towards the solution versus a top down approach. Incorporating social vulnerability indexes and local economic impact models into these plans. While the group is working out where to put stuff it ensures the [00:13:40] recovery process supports both macroeconomic and community level resilience.
[00:13:45] Kyle King: when I hear you sort of discuss The way that these frameworks will work together and how we have to plan around the communities and economic impact and longer term resilience. I, being from the state of Texas, always think about how, hurricane season is a known thing every single year, and we know it's a [00:14:00] seasonal event.
[00:14:00] Kyle King: There's also monsoons and other areas of the world. There's even like holiday shipping, right? So if, if really all our goods, 90% are shipped around the world and it's all coming in during the holiday season, you know, that creates, these are things, these are events we can anticipate, plan for, and we can look at these sort ofpredictable surges.
[00:14:19] Kyle King: But what [00:14:20] steps do actual maritime leaders, I guess I would say, what do they need to make to. Or what do they need to do in order to have successful strategies for suppose just the timing and the criticality of these operations, and really add in these sort of seasonal factors.
[00:14:35] Kyle King: AndWe know that the hurricanes are coming, we know there's peak seasons in terms of [00:14:40] cargo so what is the, framework of the state of mind in terms of what they're looking at?
[00:14:43] James Merten: Yeah, so anticipating those seasonal surges and high risk periods is a core function of the maritime risk governance structure.
[00:14:50] James Merten: Maritime leaders leverage historical data, predictive analytics and climatological forecasts to develop operational playbooks or checklists tailored to local [00:15:00] risk profiles. In hurricane prone areas, many ports implement port readiness conditions or other protocols that escalate through defined levels as a storm approaches, activating emergency operation centers, halting cargo movements, and coordinating with Anchorage authorities or shipping lines and things like [00:15:20] that.
[00:15:20] James Merten: During holiday shipping peaks or agricultural export seasons, ports often address staffing levels. Extend gate hours and collaborate with inland logistics providers to manage the surge in container volumes. In certain jurisdictions, vessels may be rescheduled or prioritized for birthing based on cargo, criticality, or perishability.[00:15:40]
[00:15:40] James Merten: These preemptive measures reduce congestion, improve safety, and maintain economic continuity. One particularly successful strategy I've observed throughout my work involves integrated stakeholder briefings that include port authorities. Terminal operator, shipping lines, emergency managers. And I think that's the key is a lot of the times we talk about ports in the [00:16:00] silo, but we need to bring in local, state provincial emergency managers into the discussion.
[00:16:06] James Merten: And of course labor unions 'cause without labor unions in the US. Products don't move. And, and these meetings allow for synchronization of operations, the establishment of contingency routes in the event that the priority route is unavailable [00:16:20] and the identification of at-risk commodities, because an at-risk commodity might mean something different to a different group.
[00:16:25] James Merten: Proactive coordination rather than reactive crisis response could significantly reduce system strain and improve adaptive capacity.
[00:16:34] Kyle King: So let's shift over a bit into sort of the cyber domain, because with ports increasingly becoming [00:16:40] digitized, right? with cranes scheduling, container tracking, what's your take on the rising cyber threats?
[00:16:44] Kyle King: Have you encountered situations where a digital failure or a breach has caused a disruptionwith physical results?
[00:16:51] James Merten: Yeah, so the maritime sector, it's undergoing a digital transformation. It's got significant gains in efficiency, safety, and visibility.
[00:16:59] James Merten: However, [00:17:00] this digitalization comes with corresponding cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The attack surface has expanded as port equipment, vessel navigation systems and cargo databases become interconnected via internet of things and cloud-based platforms, cyber incidents such as the NotPetya attack on Maersk in 2017, which disrupted port operations and cargo [00:17:20] tracking globally.
[00:17:21] James Merten: Illustrate how a single point of failure can cascade across systems. I've researched other ports where ransomware encrypted vital operating systems, which rendered them non-functional for days. The economic impact in these cases is comparable to physical disruptions because it's cyber turns physical is and that's the most interesting portion ofto me [00:17:40] personally. But the loss of throughput, diversion of vessels. Contractual penalties and reputational damage are all real in cyber attacks and cyber events. Addressing this threat requires ports to invest, right in both technological defenses and institutional resilience.
[00:17:56] James Merten: And I, the institutional resilience is probably the port that's getting the [00:18:00] less look. Technological defenses is very popular because there's a lot of companies that can help with that. Cyber risk though must be integrated into continuity of operations planning or coop. And cyber incident response should be drilled with the same rigor as that of an oil spill or a maritime vessel fire scenario.
[00:18:16] James Merten: The future of maritime resilience really depends on not only a stronger [00:18:20] sea walls and response teams, but also on robust firewalls backup protocols and workforce cyber literacy.
[00:18:27] Kyle King: So okay. Say that is a, digital or a cyber event that leads into a physical sort of disruption in operations.
[00:18:34] Kyle King: this could be classified as like a major incident. So let's say there's a major incident. the port reopens, but it doesn't [00:18:40] necessarily mean that it's fully recovered. And so what indicators or signs do you personally look for to confirm that a port is genuinely back on its feet and not just working at half capacity?
[00:18:50] James Merten: Port reopening is a symbolic and operational milestone, but it's not always synonymous with recovery. To evaluate whether a port is fully recovered, [00:19:00] I assess quantitative and qualitative indicators. Key among those are container throughput metrics, vessel turnaround times, and intermodal connectivity.
[00:19:09] James Merten: If cargo is arriving but not being cleared efficiently, or if labor shortages are limiting crane operations, the port is functionally impaired despite being technically open. Other [00:19:20] critical indicators include landside logistics flow, So those are trucks queuing for hours due to gate inefficiencies.
[00:19:27] James Merten: Are rail connections restored and operating within normal parameters. Importantly, I also look at stakeholder sentiment Are shippers rerouting vessels to alternative ports due to confidence gaps? Are port workers [00:19:40] reporting safe or incomplete working conditions
[00:19:43] James Merten: And my academic work at the University of Ant. I've been working on a port recovery index. So I've been looking to formalize these indicators into a composite score that integrates physical capacity labor governance response, and economic throughput Recovery should [00:20:00] be evidence-based and data-driven, not just merely performative.
[00:20:06] Kyle King: Now you did just build a course on maritime port recovery and maritime crisis management with crisis 11. And your course does go into managing these types of disruptions from the strategic level down to say, more practical salvage operations. So for someone that's [00:20:20] relatively new to this field how does that particular course or that program help bridge the gap between these academic concepts that you're talking about and then also the practical realities we've been discussing.
[00:20:30] James Merten: Yeah, I'm really stoked about the course. I'm looking forward to everyone taking it. the course is intentionally designed to serve as a bridge between the theoretical understanding and [00:20:40] operational readiness. A lot of the times that's right where the gap is. By grounding students in the fundamental frameworks of disaster resilience, including the SAI framework.
[00:20:49] James Merten: The principles of critical infrastructure protection and maritime risk governance. Then we quickly move into applied learning, analyzing real world case studies and looking at different scenario based [00:21:00] situations that the students can use to simulate or to evaluate complex maritime crises.
[00:21:07] James Merten: The participants are exposed to a full spectrum of disruption from acute incidents like vessel fires or cyber reaches to chronic stressors such as climate induced sea level rise. We integrate some [00:21:20] technical skills IE salvage planning and incident command with systems thinking like stakeholder mapping and interagency coordination.
[00:21:28] James Merten: So whether a student comes from engineering policy or operations background, the course emphasizes translational knowledge. How to move from abstract resiliency goals to actionable recovery [00:21:40] planning. This goal is to equip emerging leaders with the skills and insights necessary to navigate the complexities of modern maritime disruptions with clarity, competence, and coordination.
[00:21:54] Kyle King: Okay, great. Thanks a lot for that. And so the last question I have is looking forward, we often discuss emerging issues [00:22:00] and predict a little bit about the future and threats across that risk landscape.
[00:22:03] Kyle King: And so what do you see are the emerging issues? Maybe it's more extreme weatheroffshore wind farms or advanced automations. As these emerging issues that are coming up within your sector, do you believe. they will redefine how we manage a maritime crisis in the coming years?[00:22:20]
[00:22:20] James Merten: Yeah. Great question. This is one of my favorites to, to kinda look ahead, but several converging trends are reshaping the risk landscape for ports and maritime systems. Climate adaptation is paramount. Ports are increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels, intensifying, storm surges, and extreme heats.
[00:22:39] James Merten: [00:22:40] These hazards threaten not only infrastructure, but also continuity of port operations. Ports need to invest in adaptive infrastructure. Potentials could be elevated terminals, green energy transitions, floating berths as well as scenario modeling and community-based adaptation planning.
[00:22:57] James Merten: Offshore wind farms represent another emerging [00:23:00] frontier. These installations require new vessel typesa new way to carry wind blades. We're seeing that in the Columbia River, where sometimes they stack 'em too high and it presents a hazard to navigation because the river pilots can't see out the window as they're making tight turns in the inland navigable waterway.
[00:23:18] James Merten: So maintenance protocols [00:23:20] also, and then potential new maritime traffic patterns. Because they're coming from different origin points and maybe we're getting new vessels into each maritime system. So each port is gonna see vessels that maybe they haven't seen before. They also raise novel emergency planning considerations.
[00:23:35] James Merten: Including how to conduct rescue or firefighting operations in turbine fields [00:23:40] and on vessels. This has similarities and parallels with lithium ion batteries as the world goes electric. The firefighting technology and procedures to fight a lithium ion battery on a vessel either at sea or at a port, just haven't caught up yet.
[00:23:55] James Merten: So we're trying to, create ways to make that safer. [00:24:00] the intersection of renewable energy and maritime governance is gonna be defining challenge of the coming decade. And then lastly, automation and AI are introducing both opportunity and risk. Fully automated terminals promise increase efficiency, but also decrease flexibility during crisis.
[00:24:18] James Merten: Human oversight [00:24:20] and manual override capabilities must be preserved. AI models used for predictive maintenance, cargo flow, or threat detection must be stress tested for robustness under anomalous conditions. And together these trends demand a multidisciplinary approach.
[00:24:34] James Merten: One that will integrate engineering policy, technology, and social equity to [00:24:40] design maritime systems that are both high performing and deeply resilient.
[00:24:44] Kyle King: Yeah. Thanks James. I really appreciate you looking into your. Crystal ball a little bit and seeing some of the emerging things that we're gonna have to deal with.
[00:24:50] Kyle King: It's always fascinating to talk to people like yourself from different domains. Unpack the downstream effects of some of these big policy changes whether that's investing in renewable energy or the shift to [00:25:00] electric and lithium, batteries.
[00:25:01] Kyle King: And the impact not only environmentally, but the way that we manage a crisis. All of that stuff is super fascinating. So thanks a lot for being here today on the Christ Lab podcast and joining us and unpacking what you've already, developed with us in the course and also some of your perspectives about the emerging trends.
[00:25:15] Kyle King: I really appreciate it.
[00:25:17] James Merten: Thanks. It was my pleasure.
[00:25:19] Kyle King: [00:25:20] Alright then. That's it for our podcast today. For anybody who would like some more information about James and the course that he has with Crisis Lab, please head over to crisis lab.io and you can find out more information there. Thanks a lot, and we'll see you next time. [00:25:40]
