MS&D 2011 – Focus On Port Security
Port security and coastal protection are key issues for the maritime security authorities, responsible for security of commercial shipping worldwide. So it is only logical that asymmetric threats to ports and coasts are also a focal issue at the international MS&D Conference, to be held at the Hamburg Fair site from 15 to 17 June, together with the MS&D exhibition. Photo courtesy Hamburg Messe und Congress/Michael Zapf.
It is organised by Hamburg Messe und Congress (HMC) in cooperation with the publisher Mönch Verlag, represented by NAVAL FORCES magazine, which has invited two of the leading port security experts as keynote speakers. They are Henk de Jong, Head of Sea Police Rotterdam, and Frank-Martin Heise, Head of Waterways Police in Hamburg – that is the people responsible for security at Europe’s largest and third-largest port respectively. Henk de Jong will present a case study examining the security measures to counter asymmetric threats to ports. Frank-Martin Heise will address the interaction between different institutions in the organisation of security for a large port, the neighbouring waterways and the coastal seas in the approaches to it.
ISPS Code
The fact that ports have not so far been hit by major terrorist attacks was attributed by Mr. Heise to the sophisticated security systems already in place – “We have a very high standard of security in ports, thanks to implementation of the ISPS Code.” He underlined the fact that every port was protected by special security regulations – no-one can move around on the quays or approach maritime vessels without the necessary authorisation.
The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code) was introduced by the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) as a response to terror attacks, such as the USS Cole bombing by an al-Qaeda suicide squad in the Port of Aden on 12 October 2000, and in particular the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.
Speakers
Additional security aspects for ports and coasts will be addressed by conference speakers such as Dr. Norman Uhlmann of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits in Fürth, and Siegfried Bruhs, Head of the Waterways Police of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. Dr. Uhlmann is a physicist and will explain the role that modern computer tomography can play in improving the security of containers. Bruhs will speak about methods of protecting potential targets by the coast from the seaward side, presenting the results of a study on the G8 Summit Meeting of 2007 in Heiligendamm.
Exhibition
The MS&D exhibition to be held concurrently will enable international suppliers of maritime security and defence equipment to showcase their new technologies and latest developments. A number of nations have already announced that they will be organising national pavilions.