When I was at law school, when it came to picking our electives, I didn't take a paper on the law of the sea; I instead took labour law. However, my good friend and contemporary and fellow student at the time Dr Bevan Martin did take this elective. He is now a specialist lawyer and academic in maritime law, and I am here as a Labour MP. Isn't it interesting how sometimes our paths can diverge and lead us to different places? But, in having a friend who is a specialist maritime lawyer, I did take the opportunity to ask Dr Martin about this bill and his view on this bill as someone who can look at it somewhat independently. He responded as follows: "The world's oceans are places of complex and overlapping claims to jurisdiction, to legal authority over persons and vessels. Within these vast spaces, a wide range of illegal activity can take place in relative anonymity, often by vessels that fly flags of convenience with no real oversight from the State under whose flag they operate. Drug smuggling, human trafficking, illegal fishing, and even piracy can thrive if responsible countries do not maintain a careful watch over their zones of responsibility."