Join the Explorers Club on April 24th for a look into an understudied period of maritime history that changed the course of the Second World War.
This presentation explores a crucial but under-examined chapter in maritime history, revealing how contraband control shaped decision-making during the opening months of the Second World War. Through a series of previously unpublished incidents, Synnøve Marie Kvam Strømsvåg will unpack how contentious prize cases involving seizure of neutral ships influenced diplomatic relations between belligerent and neutral nations, impacting on military strategy and the course of events during this period.
Drawing on original research supported by the Norwegian Shipowners’ Mutual War Risks Insurance Association and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence WWII Cultural Heritage Fund, amongst others, this session will show how individual prize cases became precedent-setting and exposed legal grey zones which continue to endure in today’s hybrid threat environments at sea. Some such legal grey zones from 1939 have since been clarified in law, whilst others remain unclear. Some incidents created legal precedence – others impacted on the course of events but left few traces in law.
Attendees will gain new insight into the intersection of regulation and international relations that remains relevant for current war risk, maritime legislation, civilian shipping and naval strategy. And it all started with the forgotten story of two shipwrecks on Orkney…
This in-person event at the Explorers Club Headquarters will include an audience Q&A.
RESERVATIONS
This will be an in-person lecture at Explorers Club Headquarters.
In-person tickets are $20 for Members, and $35 for the General Public.
Check-in will begin at 6:00 pm, with a beer and wine reception from 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Synnøve Marie Strømsvåg
Synnøve Marie Kvam Strømsvåg conducts original research on conflict at sea, maritime history, and law, supported by the Norwegian Shipowners´ Mutual War Risks Insurance Association and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence WWII Cultural Heritage Fund.
She is Research Associate at University of Oxford, with the Climate Change and (in)Security Project CCIP in collaboration with the British Army´s Centre for Historical and Armed Conflict Research (CHACR).
Her current research is focused on legal disputes at sea, prize cases, and the role of shipping in conflict and international relations, in contemporary as well as historic context. She is former research assistant on the Norwegian Defence Research Institute TERRA (Terrorism and Asymmetric Warfare) Project.
She holds a MA with Merits in Conflict Studies from University of Sydney, and a BA First Class Honours in Archaeology from University College London. She has conducted archaeological fieldwork in Peru, Belize, the Caribbean, UK and Norway. As part of her degree she specialised in long-distance trade of exotic materials in the Moche culture, Peru. Synnøve is former Guest Relations Manager at the Kon-Tiki Museum, and became an archaeologist and a member of The Explorers Club from her personal connection with Thor Heyerdahl.
Synnøve serves on the Board of Directors of The Explorers Club, leads the Preparedness and Rapid Response Task Force, and serves as the Chapter Chair for the Norway Chapter. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
