The Inspector of the Navy and the President of the German Maritime Institute (DMI) organised a competition at the beginning of 2013: Young officer cadets and officers were invited to write an essay on the topic: "The 21st century - a maritime century - wish and reality?" It was difficult to choose the three "best" from the numerous entries, but we succeeded! The award ceremony for the four winners of the essay competition was held at the Maritime Convention in Berlin on 21 November 2013 by the Inspector of the Navy, Vice Admiral Axel Schimpf, and the President of the DMI, Vice Admiral (ret.) Hans-Joachim Stricker.
We would like to take this opportunity to present the three winning essays and their authors!
Let's start with the essay by Lieutenant Tabea Müller:
The 21st century - A maritime century - wish or reality?
by First Lieutenant at sea MA Tabea Müller
"The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the earth. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert where a man is never alone, where he can feel the life of all within him tremble. The sea is but a receptacle for all the tremendous, supernatural things that exist in it; it is not only motion and love; it is living infinity." (Jules Verne)
Jules Verne was already aware of the unique significance of the sea, which he made the centrepiece of his 1869 work "Twenty thousand leagues under the sea" made. He saw everything present in it, everything connected. Even today, the sea still has a fascinating effect on us. However, it is not only in a romantic sense, but above all in a practical sense that the world's oceans have a very special influence on our age. The world is getting smaller and smaller, international networking is increasing at a rapid pace and nowadays you can travel to almost any conceivable place on earth with just a few clicks. In such an environment, has the importance of the world's oceans diminished or even grown? Are the relative slowness of the sea and the distances to be travelled still compatible with our explosive lifestyle?
It is not only the 21st century that is, under certain circumstances, a maritime It is, however, a different one than in the days of the great naval heroes, above all the British admiral Horatio Lord Nelson. The importance of the sea no longer lies in its function as a theatre of national power struggles, or rather, no longer primarily. Instead, the sea has become a source of food and resources, an economic and living space. Well over 120 billion tonnes of valuable metals and minerals are believed to lie in the depths of the sea. But the seabed is one of the most unknown areas of our time, even the moon is more familiar to us. Only a fraction of marine life is known, not to mention definitive research into it. In addition, the growing infrastructure, such as pipelines or telephone cables, which run along the seabed and cross various economic zones, can quickly become a political issue. Offshore wind farms, oil and gas deposits and fishing grounds not only raise legal and political questions, but also repeatedly give rise to heated discussions with regard to environmental protection. The sea not only connects worlds in a geographical sense, but also spans a multitude of different spheres.
But what does the term "maritime", what does such a "maritime" century? If something "maritime", then the meaning of the word always has something to do with the (lat.) marethe sea. The Duden offers two meanings: on the one hand, "concerning the sea, influenced, characterised by it" and on the other, in a somewhat more specific understanding, "concerning the sea, shipping". Now, as already indicated at the beginning, the sea is not an insignificant marginal phenomenon, but a multidimensional phenomenon, a medium that connects different worlds with each other, or even represents a world of its own. One of the most elementary and almost most important functions of the sea is certainly that of connecting the individual continents. Around 90 per cent of intercontinental trade is carried out by sea. Despite the past financial crises in 2008 and 2009, the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe since 2010, numerous interruptions to supply routes as a result of natural disasters, for example in Japan and Thailand, and the unrest caused by the revolutionary movements in the Arab countries, the global economy grew by 2.7 per cent in 2011 and by 2.2 per cent in 2012. This resulted in a five per cent increase in international trade. Goods worth 18,200 billion dollars were exported worldwide in 2011. This is accompanied by the importance of navigational and operational safety at sea, as well as awareness of the threat posed by international piracy and the maritime Terrorism. Around the turn of the millennium maritime Crime, which was particularly prevalent in the Strait of Malacca, had barely entered the public consciousness. Not even the shipping companies or even the local ship crews took appropriate defence measures. It was only over time, as a result of numerous attacks and fatalities, that international pressure grew on the countries bordering the affected Southeast Asian sea area, so that they introduced appropriate measures and have now virtually eliminated regional piracy. Although there are still occasional attacks, these are isolated incidents and nothing compared to the new hot spot off the Somali coast and in the Gulf of Aden. Some of the scenes here are dramatic: Ships are boarded on the high seas by armed men, the crew kidnapped and often tortured. The crews are only released for high ransoms and often after several months in captivity. However, what this means for the victims and their families is hardly ever discussed. It may sound downright macabre in some circumstances, but it is a harsh reality when it is repeatedly emphasised that such an act more maritime Crime ultimately has no impact on the global economy if you compare the total turnover figures with the cost of losing a single ship plus ransom payments. The argument that the probability of becoming the target of an attack is just under 0.01 per cent should also lose its significance as soon as you consider the psychological consequences of even an attempted attack for the ship's crew concerned. At the end of May, the German Bundestag once again had to decide on German participation in the EU's ATALANTA mission. Even during the last vote, a certain restraint was evident. Such missions are certainly cost- and personnel-intensive. Nevertheless, it should always be scrutinised what the consequences of inaction could be and how high the resulting follow-up costs could be. Quite apart from the fact that Germany is obliged under various international treaties, including the ratification of the Convention on the Law of the Sea and in particular the SOLAS Agreement, to combat more maritime crime is committed.
Generally speaking, from a political and, in particular, a legal point of view, there are a number of opportunities with regard to the various maritime Topics, numerous questions. The high seas, i.e. international waters, is the only area on earth that is not subject to national laws. Although it is not a sovereign territory, it is not a legal vacuum. Various treaties, agreements and international basic rules, first and foremost the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea mentioned above, open up a network of guidelines that can be used as a guide. maritime units, whether civilian or governmental, and have to orientate their actions accordingly. However, time has not stood still, even on the water, and modern conditions are increasingly shaking up previously solid legal principles. To stay with the example of maritime piracy, there will be a lot to clarify in the future, particularly in the area of criminal prosecution. For example, there are still some unresolved problems regarding the place of prosecution, i.e. whether this should be carried out by the state concerned far away from the incident, locally by the pirate's home state or by a third state in regional proximity, which is not unimportant for the Federal Republic of Germany in particular. Due to our strong focus on the protection of human rights, we must not simply extradite suspected criminals, even if they have been caught in the act, if we know or fear that those arrested would be subjected to inhumane conditions or even the death penalty in the destination country. Due to this multiple anchoring of the requirement to protect human rights in the German Basic Law, the European Convention on Human Rights and other international agreements such as the Convention against Torture, Germany has not yet participated in a NATO-led anti-piracy mission. So far, only the EU has succeeded in concluding corresponding agreements with third countries that are also acceptable from a German perspective.
But the threat posed by international terrorism and its maritime As far as the design is concerned, there are still some grey areas in the fight, which must be regulated jointly by the international community. A stronger emphasis more maritime Questions would therefore be desirable at international level in order to initiate a possible decision-making process in this direction.
What the awareness of maritime However, there is also a sharp discrepancy between relevance and actual perception in Germany. Although Germany has no longer been the world's leading exporter for some years now, it is in a solid third place behind China and the USA and has an inherent interest in a functioning trade in goods. The role that shipping plays in this context has already been illustrated with a few figures. However, despite this obvious importance for the German market economy, topics such as maritime and fisheries policy or the large area of maritime Security only dealt with in passing. As recently as September 2012, Chancellor Merkel told DIE ZEIT newspaper which issues she would pay more attention to if the euro crisis did not exist, including fisheries and maritime policy. She will certainly have surprised some people with this answer, after all maritime issues are often rather marginalised on the political agenda. However, this obvious "sea blindness", which is not only prevalent in Germany, but even in our inherently strong maritime neighbour Great Britain, however, leaves a lot to be desired. Opinions are divided as to how this can be counteracted.
However, the title of this article, which was also the work assignment, suggests another statement that goes beyond the maritime character alone. The question "Wish or reality?" conveys a clear judgement. The existence of a maritime century, i.e. a time that is clearly under Neptune's sign, is presented as desirable. However, this colouring, which is taken for granted, can certainly be questioned. There are numerous aspects that call for greater attention to the maritime sphere appear to be desirable. On the one hand, there is the already described world of maritime trade, globalisation, ever-increasing flexibility and mobility. However, there is also a downside here, which has also been indicated by examples such as international piracy or newly raised legal issues. Increased flexibility, for example in terms of the location of production, can also quickly lead to a relationship of dependency. Subsequent processing, or even sales, are squeezed into a strict schedule, making the cancellation of a delivery catastrophic! But a maritime The fact that the production of the 21st century is certainly only one argument in the discussion about the promotion of domestic production.
On the other hand, however, there is a trend towards deceleration. In recent years, cruise tourism in particular has experienced a real boom in development. Despite the aforementioned economic crises and major accidents such as the Costa Concordia, the feared decline has not materialised. On the contrary, shipping tourism was able to hold its own against competing means of transport. Another cruise ship, the MS EUROPA 2 from the Hapag-Lloyd shipping company, has just been christened as part of the 824th Hamburg Harbour Birthday. It is the most luxurious ship in Germany. A similar development in the design of these floating cities can be recognised worldwide. The ships are becoming ever larger and more luxurious and the entertainment programme is also being adapted to meet the increased expectations. Safety and comfort are becoming a quality feature, and the journey itself is becoming a holiday destination. The romantic idea of Jules Verne still lives on today.
However, there is still the question of whether the 21st century will be a maritime or whether this is merely the desire maritime affiners. But what indicators should be used for such an assessment? If one uses public perception as a basis for judgement, then one can hardly speak of a maritime century. The situation is different if we consider the importance of the sea in general or even in a specific sense, for example from a market economy perspective.
Whether this still relatively young century maritime will be, that can only be surmised. The importance of more maritime economy and transport routes will not decline in the future. It remains questionable whether this will be enough to characterise an entire century in such a way that it is completely dominated by the sea. A multitude of different influencing factors are responsible for how our world view is formed. Depending on our specific cultural background, our past and our national identity, among other things, a pattern of perception and interpretation emerges that determines which topics from a multitude of different events are problematised and find their way onto our list of priorities. Because we only have a limited window of perception, it is impossible to take all issues into account.
So it is ultimately a question of perspective: an objective judgement is beyond our capabilities. A German marine will certainly have a completely different relationship to maritime questions than, say, an American taxi driver trying to survive in New York. The issues that dominate public discourse also have an enormous influence on our personal interests, not least on the shape of the immediate political agenda. So although the basic requirements of a maritime Even if there are many different types of discourse in the 21st century, it is the leading discourse that determines how an age is characterised in the long term.
Lieutenant Tabea Müller is a member of Crew 7/07, studied political science at the Helmut Schmidt University and is currently a doctoral candidate in political science there. She is planning to train as a helicopter pilot officer from 2014.
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One Response
Bravo Zulu, that the DMI offers young naval officers a platform for their thoughts and thus the chance to be heard with maritime thoughts. This blog not only reaches the "Catholics" of the naval forum, but young people in particular.
So please keep up the good work.