Maritime Security Strategy 2024

As stated in the Maritime Security Strategy 2024 document, “the Strategy characterises Spain as a maritime country with a global vocation, whose interests are projected both in maritime spaces under national sovereignty and in international waters”. 

1. Dependence on the sea 
2. The sea: a sign of identity 
3. Maritime areas of interest 
4. Risks and threats  
5. Hybrid strategies 
6. Threats to national interests 
7. Illicit trafficking and cross-border crime
8. Climate change risks
9. Strategic approach 
10. Protecting Spain “at” and “from” the sea
11. Improved maritime security capabilities
12. Cybersecurity as a key element 
13. A safer ocean 
14. Irregular immigration 
15. National Security System  

Dependence on the sea 

Putting figures to reality reveals Spain’s dependence on the seas.  

459 million tonnes of goods enter and leave Spanish ports (accounting for 90% of imports and 60% of total exports). Energy dependence is 70% and the oil and natural gas that enter Spain do so by sea. In addition, more than 100,000 ships pass through the Strait of Gibraltar every year.  

Spain’s maritime areas are crossed by submarine cables, gas pipelines, oil pipelines, electricity and digital connections with the autonomous cities and the Spanish archipelagos, international electricity interconnections and the fibre cables with which Spain can connect with America, Africa and Asia. These are strategically important elements, not only for the country, but for the international community as a whole.

Also of strategic importance are the gas tankers, six regasification stations, refineries and port infrastructures. 

“Our coastline and jurisdictional waters are home to an increasing amount of activity. Spanish ports and maritime terminals are one of the main national assets”.  

The sea: a sign of identity 

Spain’s identity is maritime. Not only because of its history or the activity of its ports, but also because of its geography.

Spain is a peninsula, but it also has islands, archipelagos and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla in the north of the African continent. In addition, the Strait of Gibraltar represents the point of maximum proximity between Europe and Africa.  

“The peninsular territory, the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, the Balearic and Canary archipelagos and the numerous islands, islets and rocks add up to 10,000 km of coastline, according to the National Geographic Institute. This profile offers Spanish ports and maritime terminals an advantageous position for international maritime trade, as well as for the transport of people, goods, merchandise and resources”. 

But as well as opportunities, the sea also brings risks. It is therefore necessary to know how to manage the risks and threats that arise.  

Maritime areas of interest 

Spain’s maritime areas of interest can be divided into three categories.  

First, the maritime areas of preferential interest (vital or vital interest). This is the set of all areas in which the country is sovereign or has sovereign rights or jurisdiction. They are of vital importance, since what happens in them directly affects the integrity and sovereignty of Spanish territory. 

Next are the maritime spaces of interest, i.e. international waters that affect the stability and development of Spain’s society. 

Finally, there are other maritime spaces of interest. These are the coastal areas, where economic activities take place.  

Risks and threats  

Four different categories are used to classify threats and risks to national maritime security. These are: hybrid strategies, threats to national interests, illicit trafficking and cross-border crime or risks to the good environmental status of the marine environment and climate change. 

The first category, hybrid strategies, is central and brings together the whole spectrum of threats and risks, structuring them in the form of a triangle…. 

A first vertex would be represented by any type of attack on national interests in the maritime domain, international law and maritime law.  

The second is made up of illicit trafficking and cross-border crime.  

At the last vertex are processes that threaten the environment of the sea, including its fauna and flora.  

Hybrid strategies 

According to the new National Strategy for Maritime Security, a hybrid strategy is “all types of coordinated and synchronised…