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Maritime Security Symposium

On 14 June 2018, the NATO Shipping Centre convened the 2ndannual Allied Maritime Command Maritime Security Symposium (MMSS) in the Northwood Headquarters.  For the second time, representatives from the Shipping Industry were invited to share information and ideas about Maritime Security in an open forum. NATO MARCOM was supported by representatives from EUNAFOR’s Operation Sophia (Mediterranean) and Operation Atalanta (Somalia – Horn of Africa). Representatives came from the major global shipping organisations, including the round table, IMO, insurances clubs, major companies, and Company Security Officers (CSO).

During a High Level Shipping Engagement (HLSE) meeting hosted by COM MARCOM in May, two topics were confirmed by leaders from Shipping Industry as important for discussion at this year’s MMSS: Cyber Security for Shipping and Maritime Security in the Mediterranean. To this end, European Cyber Security representatives attended in order to provide the first block presentation, and threat briefings were provided by MARCOM N2 (Intelligence).

All participants were able to contribute and participate actively in the topics addressed. With regard to Cyber Security, comments by the participants focused on the need for better training down to mariner level. For Maritime Security in the Mediterranean, the necessity of exchanging information between all stakeholders and improving the training for crews and masters in order to increase cooperation between the military and the shipping industry remained the key takeaway. 

The Roadmap developed from the first MMSS, which serves as a guideline for how MARCOM plans future Maritime Security Operations, will be updated after this 2nd MMSS. The NATO Shipping Centre will provide a new version soon.