Sea Education Association Lecture Explores Illegal Trafficking on the Oceans

WOODS HOLE – The Sea Education Association in Woods Hole is hosting its first lecture of the year on January 31 at 1 p.m.

Titled “The Ocean and Modern Illegal Trafficking”, Captain Chris Nolan will take participants on a journey into how the United States and its partners are combatting illegal activities occurring on the high seas.

The former U.S. Coast Guard cutter commanding officer will use compelling videos and images to describe the general methods and goals of illegal traffickers, and what the U.S. and its partners are doing to combat the threat.

Whether transporting slaves across the Atlantic Ocean or rum-running during the era of prohibition, the ocean has been used as a means of illegal trafficking, according to Nolan.

In the modern era, transnational criminal organizations that move drugs, people and weapons have emerged as the leading front in the battle against illegal trafficking.

Nolan believes that the U.S. Coast Guard is a key agency in this fight.

Nolan is an Assistant Professor of Nautical Science at SEA Semester and holds a mariner’s license as master of vessels up to 1600 tons upon ocean routes.

The Sea Education Association is an internationally recognized leader in undergraduate ocean education.

SEA Semester is based on Cape Cod in the oceanographic research community of Woods Hole.