India Hosts 48th Conference on Oceans Law & Policy (COLP), a First for the Subcontinent

NEW DELHI: Gujarat Maritime University (GMU), in collaboration with the World Maritime University (WMU) and the U.S. Naval War College, is convening the 48th Annual Conference on Oceans Law & Policy (COLP) in New Delhi from September 9–12, 2025—the first time the long-running forum is being held in India. The 2025 theme, “Developing World Approaches to Ocean Governance: Perspectives from the Indian Ocean Rim,” frames four days of keynotes, technical sessions and policy dialogues at The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi, informs a communique.

The program opened Tuesday ( 9 September, 2025) with a BBNJ (High Seas) clinic and welcome ceremony, followed by two full technical days on September 10–11 and a cultural field visit on September 12. Key sessions explore maritime security, seabed resources, climate and pollution, AI for ocean governance, and dispute settlement—centering voices from the Global South and small island developing states.

Hon’ble Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal will preside as Chief Guest on September 11, 2025 evening, underscoring India’s maritime ambitions and its push to strengthen rules-based ocean governance across the Indo-Pacific.

Organized by GMU with WMU and the U.S. Naval War College, the conference has been supported by India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), with Dr. M. Ravichandran, Secretary, MoES, among day-one keynote speakers at the welcome ceremony.

Keynotes and featured addresses (selected)

• Judge Neeru Chadha, Vice-President, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea — keynote on Sept 10, 09:15–09:30 IST (remote).
• Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Director, Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — address on Sept 10, 13:00–13:15 IST.
• Charlie Garnjana-Goonchorn, Director of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Thailand) — remarks on Sept 10, 17:30–17:45 IST.
• Amb. Arif Havas Oegroseno, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Indonesia — keynote on Sept 11, 09:15–09:30 IST.
• Prof. James Kraska, Chair, Stockton Center for International Law, U.S. Naval War College — special address on Sept 11, 17:45–18:30 IST.
• Cdr. Chris Hutton, JAG Corps, U.S. Navy / Stockton Center — keynote on Sept 11 at 17:45 IST.

GMU leadership will also feature prominently: Shri Pankaj Joshi, IAS, President of GMU and Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat and Prof. (Dr.) S. Shanthakumar, Provost, GMU and are listed among the conference keynotes. Prof. (Dr.) Manoj Kumar Sinha, President of the Indian Society of International Law, is slated as a keynote speaker as well. WMU President Prof. Maximo Q. Mejia and Prof. Ronán Long, Director of the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute, join the international lineup, with Prof. Long participating as a speaker and moderator.

Beyond set-piece speeches, COLP 2025 emphasizes practitioner-led panels and clinics designed to generate implementable policy recommendations—from maritime domain awareness and regional security cooperation to digital tools and AI for monitoring the high seas. The New Delhi edition’s focus on the Indian Ocean Rim is intended to bring developing-world priorities to the center of global rule-making conversations on the Law of the Sea.