ICPC Appoints New International Law Adviser

LYMINGTON, United Kingdom–On 1 March 2018, Mr. Kent Bressie becomes the new International Cable Law Adviser (ICLA) for the prominent organisation, International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC). Kent replaces Doug Burnett who left the role in late 2017 to accept a U.S. Government appointment.

In his role, Kent will work with the ICPC’s Executive Committee, Secretariat, Marine Environmental Advisor, and ICPC Members to represent the interests of the organisation and guide its international legal strategy to protect submarine cables from a variety of risks and protect freedoms codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”). He will also advise the ICPC on achieving its current and future strategic goals and on internal compliance matters.

Kent brings more than 20 years of submarine cable industry expertise to the ICPC. As a partner and Head of International Practice at Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP (“HWG”), where he will continue to practice, Kent specialises in cross-border and national-security regulation of telecommunications networks, investment, and technology, and law-of-the-sea issues. He has worked extensively in the submarine cable sector on a wide variety of public international law, maritime, investment, national security, regulatory, and commercial matters on six continents and has been active in ICPC activities for the past decade.

He has led various regulatory-reform and cable-protection initiatives including the submarine cable working groups of the U.S. Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council, which under his leadership produced three landmark reports on submarine cable protection.

Following his appointment, Kent expressed: “I am honored to represent and serve ICPC, its leadership and staff, and its worldwide membership to advance further its mission to protect submarine telecommunications and power cables. ICPC’s cable protection mission has never been more critical. Submarine telecommunications cables carry almost all of the world’s intercontinental Internet traffic and backhaul almost all of its mobile phone traffic. Changes in energy markets have also created new opportunities for cross-border submarine power cables. Yet, the world’s oceans have become more crowded with other economic activities that could damage submarine cables or create no-go zones in the world’s oceans that would impair submarine cable connectivity. I will work with the ICPC to use the law and the power of persuasion to protect submarine cables and the freedoms to install and maintain them and to educate and empower ICPC’s Members to engage more effectively with their own governments.”

As International Cable Law Adviser, Kent will advise on the United Nations development of a new treaty on conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity on the high seas and continue working with the International Seabed Authority to mitigate potential conflicts between deep seabed mining and submarine cables.

The ICPC and its Members rely on the foundations of good governance, the rule of international law, peer reviewed research as well as sharing the seabed in harmony with others. For its forthcoming 2018 Diamond Jubilee Plenary, ICPC will explore legal topics regarding the safety and security of submarine cables as well as commemorate 60 years of progress as Members will gather together in Cape Town, South Africa from 10th-12th April 2018 to discuss the state of the submarine cable industry.

About the ICPC: The International Cable Protection Committee was formed in 1958 and its primary goal is to promote the safeguarding of international submarine cables against man-made and natural hazards. The organisation provides a forum for the exchange of technical, legal and environmental information about submarine cables and, with more than 170 members from over 60 nations, including cable operators, owners, manufacturers, industry service providers, as well as governments, it is the World’s premier submarine cable organisation. For further information about ICPC visit: www.iscpc.org or send an e-mail to: secretary@iscpc.org.