Hamburg will be the global centre of the green and sustainable maritime industry from 7 to 8 September 2010 – when the first “global maritime environmental congress – gmec 2010” is held at CCH – Congress Center Hamburg. With about three months to go before the start of gmec, the programme of speakers and subjects has been finalised.
gmec 2010 is held on the occasion of SMM, the world’s premier shipbuilding fair, which runs in Hamburg from 7 to 10 September 2010. That gives visitors from all parts of the world the opportunity to attend both the high-calibre conference and the trade fair. gmec 2010 will be opened jointly with SMM on the evening of 6 September. Both events will be held under the patronage of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The keynote speaker for the Opening Ceremony will be Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Chairmen are Micky Arison (Chairman & CEO of Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise ship group); Spyros Polemis (Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)) and Dr. Corrado Antonini (Chairman of Fincantieri, the largest Italian shipbuilding company). Five Panels with ambitious subjects
The welcome address to conference participants will be given by Prof. Dr. Peter Sloterdijk, a wellknown German philosopher, television host and cultural scientist. At the Climate Conference in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 he emphasised that “the only hope for the environment is from technical developments, where the last word is yet to be spoken”. This can also be applied to gmec 2010, which presents the status quo of maritime environmental protection in the framework of five Panels.
After the opening ceremony, Panel 1 will be launched by David Dingle, CEO of Carnival UK, a subgroup of Carnival Corporation. He starts by asking the rhetorical and emotional question “Why shipping?” We can expect some good answers to that from his panellists Prof. Dr. Martin Stopford, Managing Director of Clarkson Research Studies, and Martin Landtman, President of the shipyard group STX Finland. After all, 97% of global trade is carried by sea – thereby producing only 3% of global emissions. It was shipping which made it possible to develop countries and continents in the first place; without it, globalisation would not have been conceivable. Of course it also has social significance, starting with the building of the ships, a point that will be highlighted particularly by Martin Landtman.
Panel 2, starting after the lunch break, is dedicated to maritime environmental legislation. It focuses on regional and international emission regulations, which are having more and more impact on shipping. The rules are getting tougher, especially for fuels and underwater coatings. What regulations are already in force, and what legislative developments are coming up in the next few years? What is the role played by the International Maritime Organization IMO and by MARPOL, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships? The Panel will be chaired by Dr. Hermann J. Klein, Chairman of the International Association of Classification Societies Ltd (IACS) and a Member of the Management Board of Germanischer Lloyd. First-hand information on the current and future MARPOL limits will be given by Andreas I. Chrysostomou, Chairman of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). Other panellists will be Dr. Simon Walmsley, Marine Manager International Shipping & Marine Governance of the WWF; Monika Breuch-Moritz, President of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency; and Peter Swift, Managing Director of Intertanko, the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners.
Panel 3 is chaired by Spyros Polemis, Chairman of ICS (the International Chamber of Shipping). It draws up an environmental inventory of the maritime industry and discusses requirements for greener shipping. The main emphasis is on the technical state of the art and current innovations. The other panellists are Clay Maitland, Founding Chairman NAMEPA – North American Marine Environment Protection Association; Tor Svensen, COO of the Norwegian classification society DNV; Masahiro Samitsu, Corporate Officer & General Manager Environment Group of the Japanese shipping company NYK Line; and Jamie Sweeting, Vice President Environmental Stewardship of Royal Caribbean International.
Presentations with best practice examples on the second conference day
The second day of gmec 2010 starts with update presentations on marine equipment, naval shipbuilding, offshore and the superyacht sector, and presents best-practice solutions. Speakers include Ernst-Christoph Krackhardt, Chairman of EMEC (European Marine Equipment Council), who will present the Green Ship Technology Book.
Panel 4 addresses the impact of shipping on people, and on flora and fauna on shore. For example in port by the emissions from operation of auxiliary machinery, by the building, repair or conversion of ships at shipyards, or by the hinterland transportation to and from the ports generated by freight ships – all these activities affect not only the coastal strips. This panel therefore addresses the interactions, which are so often neglected, between sea and land, and between ship and port. It is chaired by Emanuele Grimaldi, CEO of the Italian Grimaldi Group. In his keynote address, Emanuele Grimaldi presents the “Motorways of the Seas” concept, for transfer of goods from road to coastal ships and ferries, which are much better for the environment. Alfons Guinier, Secretary-General of ECSA, the European Community Shipowners’ Association, will analyse the challenges in reduction of emissions of all kinds. The issue of pollutant emissions will be covered in more detail by Matthias Ruete, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport of the European Commission. Environmental issues of port infrastructure will be analysed by Eddy Bruyninckx, Managing Director of the Antwerp Port Authority. Approaching ship design for the future
Panel 5 will address “Ship design for the future”. It will focus on the classic issues such as optimal ship design, more efficient propulsion systems, automation of ship operation, and alternative propulsion systems. And the man/machine interface will also be a key subject in this panel. In many environmental issues, it is the people and not the engineering that are most important, for example in implementation of smart route planning, and improvement of port logistics. Panel Chairman Tom Boardley, Marine Director of the British classification society Lloyd’s Register, will discuss the issues with Bo Cerup-Simonsen, Vice-President Maritime Technology of the major Danish shipping line A.P. Møller-Maersk; Bob Bishop, CEO of the ship management company V.Ships from the Isle of Man; Prof. Dr. (h.c.) Kai Levander of SeaKey Naval Architecture, Finland; and Vince Jenkins, Global Marine Risks Advisor, also from Lloyd’s Register.
“Protect our Oceans!”
The closing statement at gmec 2010 comes from Dr. Sylvia Earle, a globally recognised protagonist of maritime environmental protection. She has taken part in more than 70 ocean expeditions for National Geographic, including one in 1970 when she spent two weeks in an underwater habitat, in a project with funding from NASA. She has received more than 100 honours and awards for her achievements and commitment as an oceanographic researcher. She will report here on her expeditions, and launch an urgent appeal to all gmec participants for immediate measures to be taken to protect the oceans.
