This year is the only occasion when the International Conference on Maritime Security and Defence will be held at the world’s premier shipbuilding fair, where there will be more than 1,800 exhibitors from the shipbuilding and maritime equipment industry from more than 50 nations.

'This conference during  SMM 2008 is the launch event for the new independent

specialist MS&D conference with exhibition, which Hamburg Messe und Congress (HMC) will hold for the first time in autumn 2009 and then once every two years, alternating with the SMM', said Bernd Aufderheide, chairman of the management board of the host venue HMC.

He added that the independent status of the MS&D Conference is the response by HMC to the increasing demand of the international naval community, which includes coastguard, border police and customs services as well as the broader maritime community for a high calibre conference and specialist fair encompassing the entire range of current and potential threats to shipping channels and ports.

The importance of MS&D for world trade is further highlighted by Vice Admiral Wolfgang Nolting, Inspector of the German Navy and one of the main speakers at the conference,  who said, 'We know that our shipping routes are not to be taken for granted in the 21st century. Global maritime trade has to pass some extremely vulnerable points, such as the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, Gibraltar and Malacca.'

The MS&D conference will feature eminent speakers from all parts of the world on the subjects of security of maritime routes and seaports, current and potential threats for naval and merchant ships, and ports and naval bases, and will make suggestions to minimise risk. For further information visit: www.msd2008.com