7:50 Chairperson’s Welcome & Opening Remarks

8:00 International Counter Piracy Operations Off The Coast Of Somalia [Morning Keynote]

• The military situation and progress
• International efforts and the merchant industry
• Challenges and outlook

Rear Admiral JW (Hank) Ort, NLD N
Chief of Staff
NATO Maritime Command Northwood

8:45 USCG Counter-Piracy Operations And Maritime Law Enforcement

• Monitoring US flagged vessels in HOA/GOA region
• Criteria for security teams
• Use of force in defense of self and others
• Carriage of weapons
• Liability indemnification

Rear Admiral Kevin Cook, USCG
Director of Prevention Policy
United States Coast Guard

10:15 MARAD Efforts And Current Operations To Improve The Safety And Security Of Maritime Transportation

• Maritime administration action plan for addressing piracy off the Horn of Africa
• Reducing vessel vulnerability through increased training and standards
• Best management practices to counter piracy

Captain Robert Ford
Office of Security
U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration

11:00 Gulf Of Aden: Counter Piracy Operations

• Recent changes in local port infrastructure and management in and around the Gulf of Aden
• Realistic first steps and direction for collaboration
• Data sharing and AIS improvement

Rear Admiral Terry McKnight, USN (Ret.)
Sr. Director, Government Relations, Navy and Homeland Security Programs
Cobham Defense

11:45 The Adverse Effects Of Piracy On The Peace Process In Somalia

• Bolstering political and financial support of the new Somali government
• Working with International military and civil authorities to undermine the legitimacy of piracy
• Tying international support for Somali economic development to explicit anti-piracy initiatives

Mohamed Jama Ali
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Transitional Federal Government of Somalia

1:30 Deterring Piracy To Support Stable Maritime Operations

• Action plan for addressing piracy off the Horn of Africa
• The unique situation off Somalia and responding to piracy in a failed state

Dr. Mohamed Zayed
Co-Chair, Committee on Security and Development in Africa
Middle East Center on International Cooperation

2:45 The Effects Of Counter Piracy Efforts - Are We Doing The Right Thing?

• Countermeasures, tactics, and tools for preventing piracy on commercial vessels
• Examination of lethal and non-lethal methods as well as the pros and cons of each
• Training opportunities and next steps to improve vessel security

Captain Joseph Ahlstrom, USMS
Professor
SUNY Maritime College

3:30 Maritime Security: Small Vessels, Big Threats - U.S. Challenges And Solutions

Stephen L. Caldwell
Director, Maritime Security Issues, Homeland Security and Justice Team
U.S. Government Accountability Office

4:15 High Seas Hijacking

• The hijacking of a massive tanker: First-hand experience
• What the shipping industry can learn from ransom negotiation procedures
• Why ships should NOT carry defensive weapons

James Christodoulou
CEO
Industrial Shipping Enterprises Corp