With the swift surge in geopolitical upheavals, a rising tide of offshore security risks is playing out across the globe, putting vessels, undersea cables, and offshore oil and gas installations in danger of increasingly becoming sitting ducks for “gray zone” attacks, which WTW, an advisory, broking, and solutions company, interprets as actions used to weaken a country by any means short of an all-out war.

According to the latest Political Risk Index from WTW, the growing threat to offshore energy infrastructure and ships is on the rise, stemming from the availability of advanced weapons and the willingness of certain states to disregard international maritime laws. The report singled out Russia and Iran as countries among the ones willing to use ‘gray zone aggression’ tactics to disrupt the state of affairs in other countries.