(NEWS) WMU Hosts Annual Seminar for Port Security Officers

September

2023

WMU Hosts Annual Seminar for Port Security Officers

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WMU Professor, Dimitrios Dalaklis, contributes to the delivery of the event.

On 20-21 September, the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI) of the World Maritime University (WMU) hosted a Seminar to support capacity building for Port Security Officers (PSO). The seminar was co-organized with Nordic Crisis Management and participants included 17 Harbour Masters from the Scandinavian Region. The objective of the seminar was to qualify and update the participants on regulations, routines and best practices in their duties related to maritime security. The seminar also featured marine technology and innovations under the Horizon 2020 BugWright2 project, of which WMU is a partner.

The aim of this year’s seminar was to train Scandinavian Harbour Masters on the latest developments in relation to the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. Day one of the seminar included presentations from Nordic Crisis Management relevant to EU and national Maritime Security Regulations, PSO responsibilities, Port Security Assessment (PSA) and Port Security Plan (PSP), as well as verifications and audits. On day two, WMU Professor Dimitrios Dalaklis delivered a presentation discussing crisis management principles with a special focus on the issue of interacting with the media. An Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Management exercise followed.

The PSO Seminar is organized annually by Nordic Crisis Management in cooperation with a different host organization each year. This is the second time WMU has hosted the PSO seminar.. Cooperation in the delivery of such activities supports WMU's commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, Goal 4 focused on inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all, and Goal 17 focused on partnerships. The Seminar was also connected to the Work Package of the EU Bugwright2 project, which includes public awareness for the dissemination of the project.

The cooperation between Nordic Crisis Management andWMU has been long-standing since the GOI has been instrumental in facilitating connections with Port State Control Officers for various Transport Canada projects.

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