Advances in Safety and Security for Critical Maritime Infrastructure

Dear Colleagues,

Critical maritime infrastructure—ranging from large commercial vessels and offshore platforms to Critical Undersea Infrastructure (CUI—subsea pipelines, cables) and emerging renewable installations—faces rapidly evolving safety and security challenges. Global trends such as digitalization, automation, expanded offshore energy production, and the increasing interdependence of maritime and industrial systems have intensified exposure to physical, operational, and cyber threats. At the same time, the sector is experiencing unprecedented opportunities to enhance resilience through advanced engineering methods, integrated risk assessment frameworks, and innovative protective technologies. Ensuring the safe and secure operation of these assets is now a major concern for governmental agencies, academic researchers and the industry.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to safety and security for critical maritime infrastructure (logistical supply hubs, alternative maritime fuel installations, ports, maritime energy installations, etc.), Critical Undersea Infrastructure (CUI—subsea pipelines, cables, installations) and assets (ships, VLCCs, FSRUs, FPSOs, offshore platforms, drillships, offshore renewables, etc.). Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Physical and operational security engineering;
• Cybersecurity for maritime and offshore systems;
• Integrated safety–security assessment methods;
• Hazard identification and risk analysis;
• Industrial safety for offshore and subsea installations;
• Digitalization and maritime safety and security;
• Autonomous vessels and unmanned platforms (UAVs, UUVs, USVs) in maritime safety and security;
• Shipping logistics and protection of critical maritime infrastructure;
• New technologies in maritime safety and security (additive manufacturing, 5G, IoT, AI, Big Data, etc.);
• The implementation of standards and directives in the protection of critical maritime infrastructure.

Dr. Iosif Progoulakis
Prof. Dr. Nikitas Nikitakos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.