Admiral Makarov State
Maritime Academy

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jennifer Whitty

Cal Maritime

707-654-1720

 

Cal Maritime And Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy To Host International Maritime Security Conference

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. William J. Perry to keynote

 

 

VALLEJO, Calif., April 13, 2004 – In the United States, as in other countries around the world, the safety and security of the maritime and intermodal infrastructure has never been more important or more at risk.  To address this, The California Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime), a campus of The California State University, and the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, are hosting an international security conference — MARSEC-CON ’04.

 

MARSEC-CON ’04 will take place May 16 – 18, 2004 at Cal Maritime’s campus in Vallejo, Calif.  Dr. William Eisenhardt, president of Cal Maritime, is pleased to announce that the conference will feature former U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. William J. Perry and Rear Admiral Kevin Eldridge, Commander USCG District 11, as keynote speakers. 

 

MARSEC-CON ’04 will focus on effective planning, training, and exercising to satisfy the requirements mandated by the International Code for the Security of Ships and Port Facilities (ISPS Code) and the Marine Transportation Security Act (MTSA) implementation.  The conference will go one step further, focusing not simply on “paper” compliance, but also on how security chain collaborators can prevent all potential threats to the smooth and seamless operation of global marine transportation.

 

This is the first time that international security experts and maritime industry executives will converge onto the Cal Maritime campus for a conference of this magnitude and significance to homeland and international security. 

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“Never before has the maritime and intermodal industry been faced with such salient security threats and so many consequent compliance challenges in the form of the implementation of far-reaching new international and domestic regulatory requirements,” said Larry Howard, assistant professor of business and logistics at Cal Maritime and member of the steering committee for MARSEC-CON ‘04.  “The conference will bring together security and maritime industry experts from all around the world, all with the shared goal of making our international waterways and port facilities safer.”

 

MARSEC-CON ’04 events include panel presentations and discussions on the following topics:

·        Who is the Enemy? What is the Threat?

·        Doing and Implementing a Security Plan – “Planning in a Vacuum Stunts Your Growth!”

·        Validating Security Plans – “Exercising and Vetting”

·        Begin at the Beginning – The Philosophical Grounding for a Good Security Strategy

·        Situational Analysis of the Maritime Industry Before and After Adoption of the ISPS Code and the Marine Transportation Security Act

·        ISPS Code, MTSA and Admiralty Law

·        ISPS Code and MTSA Compatibility Issues

·        Ship/Port Security Control Systems

·         Training, the Key to Quality Security

 

“Throughout maritime history, safety at sea has been the primary focus of the

maritime industry, particularly as it related to natural disasters, human error, and equipment failure,” said Dr. Pavel Novikov, Deputy and Quality Director of the Makarov Training Center at the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy, the conference’s co-sponsor.  “But in today’s climate, the maritime industry must not only focus on safety from human error and natural disasters, but must also take into account security from terrorist threats and human-made disasters.  Quality in security training for ship and port staff is a key factor of security chain quality and reliability.”

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Conference Speakers

Dr. William J. Perry, who will keynote at MARSEC-CON ’04 on Monday,

May 17th, served as U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1994 to January 1997.  He is currently the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor at Stanford University, with a joint appointment in the School of Engineering and the Stanford Institute for International Studies.  Dr. Perry is also a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-director of the Preventive Defense Project, a research collaboration of Stanford and Harvard Universities.

 

Rear Admiral Kevin J. Eldridge, Eleventh District Commander of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), will also keynote on Monday, May 17th.  Rear Admiral Eldridge, who assumed his present duties on July 16, 2003, served as the Assistant Commandant for Governmental and Public Affairs at Coast Guard headquarters from 2001-2003.  His personal decorations include two Legions of Merit, two Meritorious Service Medals, three Commendation Medals with operational device, the Army Commendation Medal, three Achievement Medals with operational device, and the Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbon.

 

In addition, Captain Frank Johnston, the Western Region Director for the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), is guest-hosting the conference and will speak on Sunday, May 16.  Other key participants include Captain Graham Botterill, Special Advisor to the House of Lords on Ship Safety, Ferriby Group; Rob Burton, Regional Director for the Americas, IDS International LLC; Leo Gleser, President, International Security & Defense Systems (ISDS) Israel; Captain Paul Londynsky, the Director of Safety, Quality & Environmental Affairs at Matson Navigation; Dr. Pavel Novikov, Deputy and Quality Director of the Makarov Training Center at the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy, St. Petersburg, Russia; Ron Sheckler, USCG Marine Domain Awareness; and Rear Admiral Marke Shelly USNR (ret), Director of Strategic Operations, Chow Engineering.

 

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MARSEC-CON ’04 is made possible with the cooperation and support of Chow Engineering, Inc. and the Port of Oakland.  For more information or to register for MARSEC-CON ’04, visit http://www.csum.edu/marsec04/index.htm  

 

About Cal Maritime

Cal Maritime, a campus of The California State University, is one of only seven degree-granting maritime academies in the United States, and the only one on the West Coast.  Located in San Pablo Bay’s Morrow Cove in Vallejo, Calif., Cal Maritime offers students four-year degrees in business administration, facilities engineering technology, global studies and maritime affairs, marine engineering technology, marine transportation, and mechanical engineering.  For more information, visit www.csum.edu.    

 

About Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy

            Located in St. Petersburg, Russia, Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy is considered the leading maritime institution of higher education in Russia.  Named after admiral S.O. Makarov, a famous Russian naval commander and scientist, training programs at the Academy are drawn up in accordance with the state education standards, approved by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and agreed upon with the Ministry of General and Special Education.  The duration of training is 5.5 years, which includes eight to twelve months of sea time.

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Editor’s Note: Photos of Dr. William J. Perry, Rear Admiral Eldridge, and other conference participants are available by contacting Jennifer Whitty at 707-654-1720.