PORTSMOUTH, United Kingdom, and DURHAM, New Hampshire–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#ICPC–Each year, the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) and the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy (Rhodes Academy) sponsor the Rhodes Academy-ICPC Submarine Cables Writing Award for a deserving paper addressing submarine cables and their relationship with the law of the sea. Applicants to, and graduates of, the Rhodes Academy are eligible to compete for the award, in a competition administered by the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore. With the award, the ICPC and the Rhodes Academy seek to foster scholarship regarding submarine cables (the infrastructure of the Internet) and the law of the sea and promote the rule of law as applied to submarine cables. The referees of the 2026 competition chose Aryan Shresth of Australia as the winner for his paper, ‘Grey Waters: A Proposed Treaty Response to Grey Zone Tactics Against Submarine Cables.’ Shresth is currently a Graduate Policy Officer at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade based in Canberra, Australia.
The Rhodes Academy. Each year, the Rhodes Academy brings together approximately 50 mid-career professionals from around the world to study and learn from leading ocean law and science scholars, judges, and practitioners about the law of the sea and its key legal instrument, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Academy is organised by a consortium of research universities and institutes, led by the School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering at the University of New Hampshire. For more information about the Rhodes Academy and the writing competition, see https://marine.unh.edu/academics/rhodes-academy and https://marine.unh.edu/international-cable-protection-committee-writing-award.
The Award. Each year, the winner will receive either guaranteed admission and a full scholarship (covering the attendance fee, travel expenses, and shared hotel room) to the Rhodes Academy, or for a Rhodes Academy graduate from a prior year, a cash award of £4,500. The winner will receive assistance from the Rhodes Academy in seeking publication of the winning paper and will also be invited to speak at the next ICPC Plenary meeting which will be held in Nairobi, Kenya. The papers of all past winners have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
About the ICPC. ICPC is the world’s leading organisation promoting submarine cable protection and resilience. The ICPC works with its members, governments, international organisations, other marine industries, and the scientific community to: mitigate risks of natural and human damage to cables; develop recommendations and best practices for industry and governments throughout the cable project life cycle; promote scientific research addressing how cables exist in the marine environment; and promote the rule of law for the oceans. Founded in 1958 the ICPC has over 260 members from over 75 nations, including cable operators, owners, manufacturers, and industry service providers, as well as governments. For further information about the ICPC, see www.iscpc.org and www.linkedin.com/company/icpc-ltd/.
Contacts
ICPC Contact:
Kent Bressie, International Law Adviser, ICPC
+1 202 730 1337
kbressie@hwglaw.com
Rhodes Academy Contact:
Judy Ellis, Rhodes Academy Administrator
School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering, University of New Hampshire
judy.ellis@unh.edu
