Activities
Dr. Tafsir Matin Johansson is an Assistant Professor (Research/Ocean Sustainability, Governance & Management) at the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute, World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden. Prior to that, Tafsir served as Research Associate at WMU where he has held office since 2013. Tafsir is a policy analyst with a Ph.D. in Maritime Affairs from WMU, and an LLM in Maritime Law from the University of Lund, Sweden. His duties at the GOI include ocean governance and policy research, teaching and developing innovative statistical models to better assess drivers and indicators relevant to ocean research agenda.
Tafsir has published extensively on maritime and ocean issues including: techno-regulatory dynamic governance, Arctic governance, vessels of concern, corporate social responsibility, marine pollution, climate change, conflict management and trust ecosystem, and Brexit and fisheries.
Tafsir has worked on or led a number of multidisciplinary projects, including: regulatory development projects funded by Transport Canada(Government of Canada) since 2014, as well as those funded under the Canadian Government’s Oceans Protection Plan covering critical topics, e.g., oil spill intervention, abandoned vessels and derelicts, ISPS Code, marine medical certificate for seafarers, maritime security, underwater noise, ballast water management, anchorage management and oversight in public ports, GHG emission reduction measures and environmental policy frameworks, and aquaculture of salmonids. In addition, Tafsir has served as an in-house researcher on projects funded by International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM) and the Danish Shipowners’ Association.
Between 2020 and 2024, Tafsir acted as a CO-PI in a European Union Horizon2020 Programme funded project titled “Overcoming Regulatory Barriers for Service Robotics in an Ocean Industry Context” (BUGWRIGHT2; GA 871260). Currently, Tafsir leads the third pillar (ocean observation technologies and artificial intelligence) of the Future of the Oceans Programme funded by the Nippon Foundation.
Sea regions of study
Mediterranean Sea - Western Basin
North Sea
Bay of Bengal
Indian Ocean
Skills
Techno-policy analyst, Marine Technology Governance, Law of the Sea, Management and Organisational Behaviour, Area-based Management
