JMSC is jointly sponsored by the Home Office and Department for Transport, with support in kind provided by the Ministry of Defence. It is led by the Head of JMSC, currently James Morgan, a Border Force officer. Border Force exercises management responsibility over the JMSC on behalf of the Sponsoring Departments. It is expected to reach full complement later this year.

The Joint Maritime Security Centre provides Department for Transport officials with regular vessel tracking reports for Russian-linked commercial ships thought to be heading towards the UK Marine Area, including where Russia is identified as the country of beneficial ownership. This monitoring is not limited to Russian-flagged vessels, but all registries, where a Russian link is identified.

Department for Transport officials maintain close contact with the maritime industry to assist the port sector in undertaking their own due diligence. Government support has included the publication of six versions of industry guidance and regular intelligence reports containing Ships of Potential Interest, which are those identified as having a potential Russian connection. The legal duty under the Russia (Sanctions)(EU Exit) Regulations 2019, as amended (the Regulations) remains with UK ports to reach an assessment as to whether they know or have reasonable cause to suspect that a ship falls within scope of the port ban.

The prohibition on UK port entry in the Regulations applies to certain ships including “a ship owned, controlled, chartered or operated by persons connected with Russia”. The definition of a person “connected with Russia” includes but is not limited to individuals who are “ordinarily resident in Russia” or “located in Russia”, or companies that are “incorporated or constituted under the law of Russia” or “domiciled in Russia”.

At the start of the conflict, at least twenty-eight ships were knowingly frustrated by the UK sanctions, having been refused entry by ports; diverted by their owner or operator; or having changed their ownership or operational structures to ensure compliance. We have now seen a wholesale change in Russian shipping activity which has seen an extensive reduction in the number of Russian-linked ships transiting UK waters and no recent attempts by such ships to enter UK ports.

In 2020/21, the Joint Maritime Security Centre received £16m funding for its ongoing operations and investment in maritime security capability specific to the end of the Transition Period. This funding was contributed by the Department for Transport, Home Office, Ministry of Defence, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and their agencies. JMSC is governed by cross-Whitehall structures comprising the funding departments, as well as ongoing Ministerial oversight including via the Maritime Security Ministerial Small Group.

The Maritime Security Ministerial Small Group meets regularly and has convened four times since Autumn. Meetings have been attended by Ministers from the Department for Transport, Home Office, Ministry of Defence, Cabinet Office and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Maritime security risk assessment, policy development and Ministerial oversight and engagement also continues outside of these meetings.

The Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC) is the multi-agency organisation responsible for ensuring the UK maintains its understanding of the UK maritime domain and develops the cross-government coordination frameworks to respond to threats to security, law and order, and the marine environment. The Department for Transport, Ministry of Defence and Home Office are the major financial contributors to JMSC but, mirroring its multi-agency remit, funding is also provided by a range of other Whitehall departments and agencies with maritime security interests. Cross-Whitehall governance structures are in place to oversee the strategic direction and financial management of JMSC at both official and Ministerial level.