Under the motto “Shipping: safe, networked, climate-neutral”, the 37th German Shipping Day opened May 6 with a Senate reception in Hamburg City Hall.
Members of the German Nautical Association, the Nautical Association of Hamburg and the partner organizations, the Federal Association of German Inland Navigation (BDB) and the German Marine Association (DMB) will be present.
The German Shipping Day focuses on the role and importance of shipping. The maritime economy and shipping continue to be of great importance not only for the north of Germany, but for the entire country, which is focused on peaceful foreign trade. The sea and its diverse functions and uses, such as shipping and ports, have been and continue to be formative for the coast and the people who live here. At the same time, shipping and the challenges associated with it are only perceived by the general public to a comparatively limited extent.
Public attention through the Shipping Day
Only in exceptional cases, such as the accident involving the “Ever Given” in the Suez Canal or the military attacks by the Houthis on merchant ships in the Red Sea, do they attract a great deal of public attention, as it then becomes clear very quickly and to everyone that hardly anything works without shipping in a world based on the division of labor. Without efficient shipping, our world would come to a standstill. International supply chains would be interrupted, shopping shelves would remain empty and online retail would also be unable to deliver goods. The German Shipping Days are therefore regularly organized with the aim of raising maritime awareness in Germany. These provide an opportunity to showcase shipping in all its facets and challenges, as well as its performance, innovative strength and importance.
In view of the current period of considerable economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, Captain Suhr, Chairman of the German Nautical Association, said at the opening of the German Shipping Days: “Shipping is Germany’s lifeline. Mostly without knowing or even suspecting it, 84 million people in Germany rely on shipping every day. This applies to the purchase of goods of all kinds, it applies to the consumption of energy, it applies in normal times, it applies in a dynamically changing world and it also applies in the event of military tensions. Shipping is always part of the solution, it is not possible without it.”
Symposium discusses future issues in shipping
At the 37th German Shipping Day, which will take place over three days from May 6 to 8 in Hamburg, the key issues for the future of shipping will be discussed in high-level symposia. The focus will be on issues relating to maritime safety, combating climate change, the digitalization and networking of maritime infrastructures and the recruitment of young talent. The comprehensive program for the German Maritime Day with its diverse specialist conferences can be found here.
Once again in partnership with the German Naval Association, the German Maritime Day is dedicated to the increasingly important issues of maritime security with the protection of sea routes and now also specifically to the protection of maritime infrastructures in view of the turning point in maritime times with the course of war capability. In this context, an event on the future of ports, organized jointly with the Hafentechnische Gesellschaft, will for the first time also look at ports in the context of hybrid threats and discuss their adaptation requirements.
Focus on climate neutrality and young talent
Together with the Federal Association of German Inland Navigation, the issues of climate neutrality in shipping will be explored and, with many other partners and supporters, the focus will be on the future, on young people who are to be recruited for the maritime industry and the diverse tasks involved in shaping the future.
In view of the new German government being formed at the same time as the German Shipping Day, the organizers have naturally also taken a look at the new coalition agreement. “We are very pleased that the new German government wants to advocate a European maritime strategy to strengthen the competitiveness of shipbuilding, shipbuilding suppliers and maritime technologies, and also that the maritime research program for shipbuilding is to be further developed for the future. We also very much welcome the announced commitment to a uniform tonnage tax for deep-sea shipping in the EU and the planned upgrading of the infrastructure of waterways, locks, seaports and inland ports,” said the organizers. “We are happy to support the new federal government in the de facto overdue completion of these tasks and are also happy to offer our support for the creation of a “National Shipping Strategy”, as such a strategy is unfortunately missing from the coalition agreement.
The German Shipping Day will conclude with the traditional Hamburg Shipping Dinner on the evening of May 8, which, in addition to the guest speaker, the First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher, is set to set a new attendance record with 650 guests.
