The fragile ecosystems of the oceans in particular are suffering from human intervention. Despite this, only declarations of intent remain from this year's UN Ocean Conference. In June 2025, the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) was held in Nice with 175 UN member states, following New York in 2017 and Lisbon in 2022. Around 60 statesmen or high-ranking members of government took part in the...
Countless German cargo ships were abroad at the beginning of the Second World War, denied a way back home. In Indonesia, the crew of the Sophie Rickmers waited for better times. After the occupation of the Netherlands by the German Wehrmacht in 1940, numerous German merchant ships were taken off the Dutch...
Russia is continuing its war of aggression against Ukraine unabated, while trust in its ally, the USA, is dwindling. How is the German population reacting to this dual challenge? The annual population survey conducted by the Centre for Military History and Social Sciences provides answers to questions on threat perception, transatlantic relations and the willingness to defend Germany...
The maritime foundation of European defence and national resilience is more important today than ever before. Securing it is vital for a free Europe. In contrast to the USA, Europe has no cargo ships on standby for national emergencies. There are contracts for the use of merchant ships for strategic logistics - dimensioned...
How do you accumulate a small fortune? By starting with a big one. This old realisation means that you should be careful with a financial cornucopia. And the 2026 defence budget is such a cornucopia. To put it in context: the decision to suspend the constitutionally enshrined debt brake for defence and infrastructure...
The main theme of the conference is "Maritime combat - drivers for research, armaments and utilisation". Under the proven patronage of Rear Admiral Christoph Müller-Meinhard, the event will take place on 23 and 24 September 2025 at the Van der Valk Resort in Linstow. Focussing on maritime research, naval armaments and utilisation, the...
Vincent William Astor and Franklin D. Roosevelt steered America through the turbulent first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt as one of the republic's most important politicians and Astor as one of the country's greatest businessmen and philanthropists. When John Jacob Astor IV died in 1912 in the sinking of the TITANIC, he left a legacy to his...
Despite the military inferiority of the young US Navy, it was ultimately victorious against the Royal Navy. It received important support from France. A resolution passed by the US Congress in October 1775 not only stipulated the dispatch of a militarily equipped sailing ship (see box), but also authorised a second ship for the same purpose....
China is continuously expanding its influence on other countries. Its adversaries are the USA - and Europe. China's global, economic and military rise as a geopolitical and geostrategic counter-power to the USA continues unabated. China, a global power with 1.4 billion people, is in the process of changing the global constellation of powers beyond the Western Pacific and South-East Asia...
During the large-scale exercise Baltops, experts from the Naval Shipping Administration inform merchant ship captains about the background and exercise areas. In this interview, First Lieutenant Markus S. gives an insight into his work. What are the tasks of the naval ship's command during the major manoeuvre Baltic Operations? Our personnel in Germany fulfil the tasks of Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS),...
English 
German