At the Maritime Awards Gala on 2 November in Hilversum, Susan Christianen was named winner of the Maritime Security Award. Through her research into a National Maritime Safety Centre, Christianen focuses on a highly topical issue: strengthening the Netherlands’ maritime safety and crisis resilience.
The jury commends her broad-based approach, which brings together government and civil society organisations. Her research yields concrete and practical recommendations that can contribute to better protection of the Dutch-NATO maritime domain and our critical infrastructure.
Recommendations for an NMSC
Geopolitical turbulence and hybrid threats in the North Sea urgently call for a fundamentally new way of collaborating and innovating. Although the Netherlands was advised to establish a National Maritime Security Centre (NMSC), a concrete design for its structure and cooperation was lacking. Based on a scientific literature review, 27 expert interviews and international comparisons, Christianen’s study develops directly applicable organisational models and concrete recommendations for an interdepartmental NMSC.
The innovation lies in a new national information- and decision-making structure that enables the government, vital sectors and allies to act jointly faster, smarter and more resiliently on maritime security issues. Christianen conducted the research as part of her work as an advisor at ODIN (Orchestrating Defence Innovation), part of the Dutch Ministry of Defence. The research presents a new governance and cooperation model for maritime security.
The Netherlands has a crisis structure for safety, but not yet for maritime security. This research demonstrates how stakeholders can collaborate in a scenario-driven manner using a real-time information and decision-making mechanism for security on and from sea. This results in a directly applicable design that strengthens crisis resilience and aligns with strategic ambitions of the EU and NATO.
Also read: Security Award for Van Schriek’s submarine detection method
Other nominees
The other two nominees for this award were:
- Wytse Hogeveen – Conceptual design of a large unmanned anti-submarine warfare platform.
- Just Settels (MARIN team) – SEARUSH – A fast and innovative production line for unmanned surface vessels (USVs).
Last night, 2 November, the Maritime Awards Gala took place at ORYN, Hilversum, the Netherlands. As has become common practice, five awards were presented. The Maritime Ship of the Year Award, Maritime Achievement Award, Maritime Innovation Award, Maritime Talent Award and Maritime Security Award.
Picture: The research demonstrates how stakeholders can collaborate in a scenario-driven manner for security on and from sea, on the right: Susan Christianen (photo Maritime Awards Gala Foundation/award winner).
Also read: And the 2026 Maritime Awards nominees are…
