Description
Ocean data has emerged as a new site of geopolitical competition despite the absence of clear international governance mechanisms. The control over oceanic data redefines maritime sovereignty in the digital era, constituting a new form of maritime power. Satellite observations, hydrographic surveys, seabed mapping, autonomous underwater vehicles, marine biodiversity databases, and AI-enabled maritime surveillance have transformed ocean data into a critical source of geopolitical and economic power. Yet, maritime scholarship remains limited on data ownership and control. This led to a series of questions, viz-a-viz, (1) How is the extraction, ownership, and governance of ocean data reshaping inequalities in the Blue Economy? (2) Who benefits from the global political economy of ocean data? (3) Can the Blue Economy remain equitable when its most valuable resource is increasingly data rather than fish or minerals? (4) Why does UNCLOS regulate maritime spaces but remain largely silent on the ownership and governance of ocean data? This paper advances the ‘Ocean Data Colonialism’ theory explaining how technologically advanced states and private corporations increasingly extract, monopolize, and commercialize marine data, producing new forms of inequality within the Blue Economy. This distinct dimension of maritime power enables asymmetrical influence over scientific research, resource governance, environmental monitoring, and strategic decision-making. Drawing on critical political economy, critical data studies, and ocean governance scholarship, the paper employs qualitative document analysis of international legal instruments, Blue Economy policy frameworks, and global marine data initiatives to demonstrate how digital infrastructures are reshaping authority at sea. By repositioning ocean data as a strategic geopolitical resource, the paper extends debates on digital sovereignty beyond terrestrial domains in the 21st century maritime order.