E-Interview with Jan Wiedermann about the new Conference on Maritime Security and Defence, MS&D 2008

Deutsches Maritimes Kompetenz Netz German Maritime Competence Network E-Interview with Jan Wiedermann about the new Conference on Maritime Security and Defence, MS&D 2008 Titel of Interviews: New conference MS&D 2008 Name: Jan Wiedemann Functional Area: Publisher Organisation: Mönch Publishing Group / NAVAL FORCES Date of Interview: August 2008 Shipping security has become an important issue in the last years. For this purpose, the international conference “Maritime Security & Defence” (MS&D) will be held at the Hamburg Fair site for the first th th time on September 24 and 25 2008 during the SMM 2008 (shipbuilding, machinery & marine rd th technology international trade fair Hamburg, September 23 to 26 2008). Mr. Wiedemann, Question 1: NAVAL FORCES magazine was asked to be the main media partner and special advisor for the MS&D conference. What was your reason for accepting this request? Answer: It was Hamburg Messe und Congress’ (HMC) idea to launch a maritime conference in Hamburg, which could later on develop into a conference plus exhibition, in order to give the German naval industry an opportunity to present themselves to an international audience on their own soil and to invite foreign naval industry to present their products and services in a city which, due to its dependence on international sea trade, is an ideal place for an event like the MS&D. Hamburg has hosted smaller naval conferences and exhibitions occasionally and of course it is famous for hosting the SMM which you mentioned – the largest civil shipbuilding trade fair in the world. But Hamburg has never had its own naval show. We at Moench Publishing Group, publisher of nine different military publications in six different languages, amongst them the internationally renowned magazine NAVAL FORCES, liked the idea and decided to support HMC with our “maritime knowledge” and world-wide network. The fact that we were able to get high ranking personnel – both decision makers and specialists - from the naval community, naval organizations and naval industry as speakers and as delegates for MS&D proves that there is a need for a conference like this in Germany, which by the way is being supported by the Federal German Government and the German Navy. page 1 of 2 Deutsches Maritimes Kompetenz Netz German Maritime Competence Network Question 2: Which role do you play as a special advisor of the conference? How does this relate to your work as Publisher of NAVAL FORCES magazine? Answer: HMC has great experience in organizing exhibitions. But they knew that they did not have sufficient specialist knowledge to plan and carry out a conference on naval matters. So it was quite natural that they approached us for support. NAVAL FORCES as – I have been told – the leading international naval magazine has accumulated a good knowledge on naval operations and technology of which quite often naval industry and smaller navies are making use. In order to promote a conference like MS&D you need a good network of partners from the naval community and naval industry. NAVAL FORCES can offer exactly that. This is why we volonteered to draft this year’s conference programme, which somehow had to consider the coinciding SMM exhibition and to support HMC in marketing the conference. We thought that the subject of maritime security would be suited best since it concerns both the navies, other maritime organizations such as coast guards, police, customs and others, and of course the merchant navies. The main subject of MS&D is the question of how can we improve security at sea and in naval bases, harbours and ports, which basically means: how can we best protect our ships and harbours from terrorist attacks and armed robbery. I think that the conference programme is well balanced. We will have presentations by very high ranking civil and naval speakers. Part one of the conference will highlight the present security situation. Part two will give an overview of what has been done already and what systems are available to improve the situation – this is where industry comes in. And in part three we will try to figure out which measures have to be taken to reach this goal. Question 3: Which goals do you pursue with the MS&D conference- as publisher and in cooperation with the Hamburg fair? Answer: The subject of Maritime Security is one of the most critical issues world-wide. The German economy, as those of most other countries on this globe, heavily depends on an uninterrupted sea trade. This requires secure Sea Lines of Communication and secure ports and harbours. The subject is of interest to the conference and to NAVAL FORCES as well. A great number of articles published in NAVAL FORCES are dealing with exactly this matter. So I am glad that on the one hand NAVAL FORCES can contribute to the Maritime Security and Defence Conference, and on the other hand can also benefit from what the international naval community and naval industry has to say regarding the security issue. In this year’s Maritime Security and Defence Conference the subject of SECURITY was underpinned due to the adjacent civil SMM exhibition. Next year’s conference and exhibition gives us the opportunity for an even wider spectrum of subjects. Mr. Wiedemann, thank you very much for this interview! page 2 of 2