In 2024, a consortium of North Sea nations allocated €45 million to deploy a high-frequency oceanographic radar network that broadcasts continuous real-time maritime safety and distress monitoring data across international shipping lanes.
This public funding is most likely intended to overcome market failure by ensuring the:
preservation of a common pool resource, as maritime safety data is rivalrous but non-excludable.
provision of a merit good, as maritime safety data is excludable but underconsumed due to information asymmetry.
provision of a public good, as maritime safety data is non-excludable and non-rivalrous.
privatization of a quasi-public good, enabling maritime operators to internalize positive externalities.
