Maritime Policy Seminar 2010

The annual WMU Maritime Policy Seminar this year again benefited enormously from contributions from distinguished practitioners representing key maritime industry activities in the 21st century. The seminar debated issues including global shipping, ships’ manning (The Year of the Seafarer), the possibility of mustering women onboard ships, a ship’s Master’s authority/responsibility and liability, the use of armed guards on ships, security issues in maritime education and training and many others. The maritime policies of Japan and the European Union were also discussed. Environmental concerns were debated after a presentation of the Deep Water Horizon blowout, including a discussion of whether the MODU Code should be mandatory under SOLAS. The Director of the IMO Maritime Safety Division discussed the need for a new generation of seafarers and how IMO, in the future, can protect shipping and shipping lanes. During the debates, the students demonstrated the knowledge gained during their studies at WMU over the last 17 months. At times the debate became quite heated, but always adhered to the rules of logic, evidence, courtesy and consensus that govern the industry as a whole.