Maritime security in the MENA region has become a central issue for global trade, energy flows, food security, and geopolitical competition. From the Red Sea and Persian Gulf to the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea, critical waterways are increasingly exposed to disruption from armed conflict, state and non-state actors, emerging technologies, governance gaps, and transnational illicit networks.

These maritime theaters are not only regional concerns. The Suez Canal, Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Bosporus Strait, and Strait of Hormuz connect the MENA region to global supply chains, energy markets, and food systems. Disruptions in any one of these chokepoints can produce ripple effects far beyond the region, including shipping delays, energy price volatility, inflationary pressures, and increased food insecurity.

The Hollings Center’s Maritime Security in the MENA Region initiative examines these challenges through a sequenced dialogue process focused on four key theaters: the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Eastern Mediterranean, and Black Sea. The project begins with targeted virtual discussions designed to generate region-specific insights, followed by a culminating in-person dialogue that will compare findings across theaters and identify practical areas for cooperation.

The project will explore evolving maritime threats, governance gaps, emerging technologies, illicit networks, supply chain vulnerabilities, and opportunities for regional and international cooperation. Rather than treating these waterways as a single security environment, it will examine how each theater is distinct while also identifying shared patterns, transferable lessons, and areas where coordinated engagement may be possible.

Through this process, the Hollings Center aims to deepen understanding of maritime security in the MENA region and generate policy-relevant insights for future dialogue, stakeholder engagement, and follow-on initiatives. At a time when maritime disruption can quickly affect regional stability and global economic security, the project seeks to support practical conversations on maintaining open, secure, and predictable maritime domains.