Maritime Domain Awareness: The Role of Information Sharing in Maritime Security
Building effective Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) requires information sharing. It entails transmitting precise, up-to-date information that can be transformed into useful intelligence. Clear communication, cooperation, and trust between all parties involved—including navies, coast guards, port authorities, and maritime security agencies—are necessary to accomplish this. By exchanging information on weather, prospective threats, incidents, and vessel movements, one can improve situational awareness and make well-informed judgments and coordinated responses. Additionally, it promotes international cooperation, transparency, and trust.
Trust and Transparency: Cornerstones of Effective Cooperation
Given the size of the Indian Ocean, effective and economical resource use is made possible by a shared information network. Although there are still worries about sensitive data being misused, these dangers will be reduced when sharing takes place between friendly countries with close security and diplomatic connections. Sharing information becomes safer in these trusted settings. In order to improve collective marine security, it is crucial that like-minded countries create agreements that allow for safe information exchange.
Maritime Domain Awareness: Challenges of Monitoring the Vast Western Indian Ocean (WIO)
Because of its size, the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region is extremely difficult for one country or organization to examine and monitor. Numerous Information Sharing Platforms (ISPs) have been established in the WIO as a result of this challenge, its geopolitical importance, and the emergence of numerous marine hazards. Even though they have varied underlying causes, these ISPs that were set up at various stages of the WIO are all ultimately aimed at boosting marine situational awareness both within and outside of the WIO.
Key Information Sharing Platforms (ISPs) in the WIO
To improve MDA and act as a global information-sharing platform, the United States launched the SeaVision platform in 2012. Established in 2015 and supported by the European Union (EU), the Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing (IORIS) initiative focuses primarily on marine capacity-building and information sharing within the Critical Marine Routes Indo-Pacific (CRIMARIO) framework. The Network for Information Sharing (NISHAR) and MITRA terminals, which facilitate information sharing among friendly foreign nations (FFCs), were established by India in 2024.
Achieving Interoperability with SeaVision and IORIS
In order to attain interoperability with other friendly countries and information-sharing networks like SeaVision and IORIS, India’s ISP must be established. As already stated, these two systems have been in operation for a long time in the WIO region and have slowly widened their monitoring to include the Pacific. By creating collaborative environments, SeaVision and IORIS hope to present a common operating picture (COP). These platforms may have different overall styles, but they include similar functionalities, including file sharing, chat and messaging, notifications, and mapping.
These ISPs now have subscribers from the majority of WIO littoral states, notably East African countries, especially those that are part of the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC), such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, and Djibouti. Furthermore, discussions to incorporate these platforms into their maritime security systems are still continuing with nations like Egypt and South Africa.
Although India is not officially a member of the IORIS community, the U.S. State Department authorized the sale of SeaVision software to India in April 2025. Software upgrades, Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT) training, remote software, analytical assistance, access to SeaVision documentation, and associated program and logistics support are all included in the deal, which is expected to cost about US$131 million.
This makes it possible for the SeaVision platform and India’s NISHAR-MITRA to work together technically and procedurally. It is important to note that IORIS and SeaVision have successfully achieved technical compatibility over the years, with IORIS users being able to access the SeaVision platform. Future interoperability is made possible by the possible purchase of the U.S. software, despite ongoing worries about data sensitivity in India. This feature aligns with the Indian Navy’s 2015 maritime security policy, which notes that by extending to nearby areas and “coordinating with similar initiatives by other nations,” these “networked systems” will improve monitoring.
Establishment of IFC-IOR and IMAC for Regional Maritime Intelligence
Over the course of ten years, India has taken initiatives aimed at improving its MDA capabilities. Information sharing and MDA received the most focus at first, as seen by India’s marine policy (2015). According to the concept, creating networked systems that could “link and compare all information received, including data from commercial sources” would help overcome the difficulty of creating MDA. The Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) and the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC), which were jointly run by the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy and were founded shortly after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks to strengthen India’s MDA, were then established in December 2018.
By serving as a regional information exchange hub, the IFC-IOR seeks to ensure collective marine security in line with India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) goal. Gathering and exchanging data with partner countries promotes a shared understanding of maritime problems. There are now 14 International Liaison Officers (ILOs) at the center, and more nations are expressing interest in joining. It has forged connections with the Regional Centre for Operational Coordination (RCOC) in Seychelles, the Information Fusion Centre (IFC) in Singapore, and the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar.
White Shipping’s involvement in maritime surveillance is strengthened by agreements with more than 20 nations. The center regularly produces reports to help stakeholders with operational planning and analysis. It has proven to be successful since the beginning by informing different parties and facilitating the prompt averting of possible dangers.
Challenges in ISP Coordination and Redundancy Issues
These ISPs do exist, yet problems still exist. Sensitive data sharing concerns still exist, and while working with FFCs can help allay them, in certain situations, a lack of trust and openness may make cooperation difficult. Another restriction that could lead to operational inefficiencies is the duplication and overlap of ISP features and operations. Redundancy and a disjointed tactical picture may result from the dissemination of comparable marine data without coordination or interoperability. The WIO is a large area, thus adding more ISPs just strengthens the framework for marine security.
The Way Forward: Enhancing Maritime Domain Awareness through Collaboration
The dynamics of the Indian Ocean region are changing quickly, and new non-traditional, asymmetric, and hybrid threats are appearing. Sharing information is advantageous and necessary in this situation. Therefore, in order to advance and strengthen MDA in the WIO region, regional leaders like India must keep collaborating with friendly nations. By collaborating with liaison officers from partner countries and acting as a center for real-time information exchange, these ISPs perform a crucial role. It is only reasonable to anticipate that NISHAR-MITRA and the potential acquisition of SeaVision will improve situational awareness throughout the Indian Ocean region.
This article was originally published by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) under the title “The Western Indian Ocean and Maritime Domain Awareness” on August 01, 2025, authored by Mr. V Krishna Kumar.