"Strengthen the location. Protect the climate. Shaping the future"

The 13th National Maritime Conference 2023 (NMK) took place from 14-15.09.23 at the Bremen Congress Centre.

The NMK is one of the German government's most important instruments for supporting the maritime industry and is also an industry meeting. It was the first conference organised by the Scholz government, and therefore also by the host maritime coordinator Dieter Janecek. Although there was no concept paper and the "National Ports Strategy" is still in the departmental coordination phase, the speech by Olaf Scholz, which can be found here, was all the more eagerly awaited:

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz

https://www.bundeskanzler.de/bk-de/aktuelles/rede-von-bundeskanzler-scholz-bei-der-13-nationalen-maritimen-konferenz-2223386

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck spoke about supply chains and literally said that "the naive belief that everything always works" is over since corona and that we now know how vulnerable maritime infrastructure is. He painted a favourable picture for the future of German shipbuilding and shipyards by naming the expected capacities of the "largest power plant in the world" - namely the North Sea. The target is 270 gigawatts. This would require many specialised ships and was "an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss". The construction of converters for offshore wind turbines is also something "that we will experience here on the coast in the west in Bremerhaven and Rostock." So the man from Schleswig-Holstein of all places forgot Kiel, where this could also be built. The construction of converter platforms creates a new value chain for shipyards and is the answer to security policy challenges, said Habeck. "It is an issue of energy security and therefore of national security. It has to happen. And the federal government, my house, me personally, I will do everything to ensure that it succeeds." And further: "We are building these things ourselves". The need for these platforms, which bundle the energy from the wind turbines and transport it to land, is around 30 to 2045 and the costs are estimated at up to 2 billion euros. At the press conference, coordinator Dieter Janecek was joined by Bremen's Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte, State Secretary Daniela Kluckert from the Ministry of Digital and Transport Affairs and Bremen's Senator for Economic Affairs Kristina Vogt.

Inspector of the Navy, Vice Admiral Jan Kaack

There were three speeches on maritime security. Parliamentary State Secretary Siemtje Möller represented the Federal Ministry of Defence. She cited the turning point in history and called for the navy to be significantly upgraded in terms of equipment and personnel. Addressing the maritime industry, she said "we are counting on you!". She called for a rethink of the existing security architecture, as the critical maritime infrastructure must be protected. The dividing lines in the Basic Law need to be reviewed, she said, as the tasks of the authorities, the coastguard and the navy are too important for this. Particularly with regard to an underwater situation picture, the separation of tasks is no longer up to date. She mentioned the trusting and close cooperation between the Federal Police Sea and the German Navy, which was later confirmed by the latter's representatives. For the first time, a naval inspector gave a speech at an NMK.

His speech is attached as a pdf. 2023 InspM-NMK

This was followed by a keynote speech by Dr Sarah Kirchberger, Director of the Institute for Security Policy at the University of Kiel and Vice President of the German Maritime Institute, on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. She emphasised how important and good the visit of the frigate Bayern to this part of the world had been, something she hears again and again when she travels. The planning for 2024 is therefore to be welcomed. Those in the audience who had heard little about Chinese naval activities up to that point were almost overwhelmed by the facts presented about its naval shipbuilding and armaments projects. The conference also featured panels on the energy transition, naval shipbuilding, munitions in the sea, critical infrastructure and the national harbour strategy. In the foyer, the state of Bremen primarily presented its portfolio of innovative industries and institutions.

Photos/Text: Schlüter