Action required: Members are invited to consider the Risk Intelligence reports provided at annexes A, B, and C and to circulate them as appropriate, noting the scope of the agreement between ICS and Risk Intelligence.

Members are invited to consider the most recent Risk Intelligence reports provided at the annexes as follows:

· Annex A – Monthly Intelligence Report
· Annex B – Red Sea Update
· Annex C – Northern Black Sea Updates

Annex A provides the monthly security report, which highlights the rising presence of hybrid threats to safe sea passage. The current security situation is the result of rapidly evolving political, territorial, and economic motivations across administrations, and cannot be easily explained by one new trend or high-profile development. There is also specific attention paid to incidents that have occurred in West Africa, the Western Indian Ocean (including the Persian Gulf), and Southeast Asia during January.

Annex B details the most recent security report on the Red Sea, where tensions are slowly easing in response to the recent ceasefire agreement. Although risk to merchant vessels in the Red Sea remains high, this threat assessment may be subject to change if the planned retreat of Israeli troops from Gaza and release of Israeli hostages is fully realised. Annex C offers an overview of security in the Northern Black Sea, where the situation remains largely unchanged. It may be useful to take note of new Ukrainian bomber jet activity in the last week of January, which could indicate an imminent attack in occupied areas or Russia.

In accordance with the scope of the agreement between ICS and Risk Intelligence, members are requested not to circulate the report further in its entirety. Members may precis the report or use extracts from it to help advise members on key issues or to assist in enquiries. In such cases, Risk Intelligence should be acknowledged as the source of the information.

MC(25)19 -Annex A – Monthly Intelligence Report February 2025

MC(25)19 -Annex B – Risk Intelligence – Red Sea Security Update

MC(25)19 -Annex C – Risk Intelligence – Northern Black Sea Security Update