Abstract
The practice of convoy involves the concentration of a group of merchant vessels under the control and direction of warships and military aircraft for the purpose of protecting it from belligerent capture or attack. The practice has often been described as obsolete, but asserting the demise of the convoy has been as regular as it has been premature. It is fitting that this operational practice be subject to an updated legal treatment and identification of new legal challenges. This article seeks to reassess the law applicable to convoys based on the consequences of certain post-1945 technological developments. It notes that the general trend has been to read technological advance as undermining rather than buttressing convoys as an operational practice. However, actual operational practice seems to have indicated the opposite. The article examines the two key law of naval warfare consequences that flow from convoys, namely the targeting of enemy convoys and the relative immunity from interference of neutral convoys. It outlines several technological challenges to convoys, which can be described as proximity challenges, with a focus on the consequences of over-the-horizon detection, monitoring, and strike capabilities. With this assessment in place, the analysis outlines the legal implications of these technology-based proximity challenges.
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