3rd Coast Guard Global Summit Held in Tokyo with Record Number of Participants (2)
In the course of two days of discussions at the 3rd Coast Guard Global Summit in Tokyo on October 31 and November 1, cohosted by The Nippon Foundation and the Japan Coast Guard, the participants agreed to launch a dedicated website for sharing useful information on advanced best practices, experiences and human resource development.
They supported further development of the online educational program for member countries through the use of the website while seeking ways to increase its educational impact, including inviting specialists from coast guard training institutes and others to give lectures.
The session also featured the latest initiatives by coast guards and related organizations around the world to develop cutting-edge technologies, including autonomous navigation.
A representative of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) gave a presentation on the progress being made in its discussions related to unmanned and autonomous ship navigation.
From The Nippon Foundation, Executive Director Mitsuyuki Unno gave an overview and update on the latest developments in the Joint Technological Development Program for the Demonstration of Unmanned Ship, dubbed “MEGURI 2040,” financed and administered by the foundation.
Involving more than 50 shipping, shipbuilding, telecommunications, and other companies, Japan is taking significant strides toward putting crewless ships into commercial service in 2025. Ultimately, the initiative aims to make half of Japan’s domestic coastal shipping fleet crewless by 2040, he reported.
Representatives of Australia, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States also gave updates on initiatives underway in autonomous ship technology development in their respective countries.
Presentations were also given by representatives of Italy on preparing for the next pandemic based on lessons learned from COVID-19, by Turkey on dealing with irregular migrants traveling by sea, and by the Information Sharing Center created by the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP ISC) on strengthening regional cooperation in combating piracy.
To establish a flexible and sustainable framework for the summit, the participants supported proposed revisions to the summit operation guidelines, including allowing for the possibility of holding the summit online or using a hybrid format, and clarifying the method for choosing summit venues.
To sum up, Admiral Shohei Ishii, Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard, who presided over the discussion, noted: “The (coast guard) heads welcomed the further development of this summit as a global and useful platform with more agencies participating, and affirmed the need for this framework to continue making it functional effectively as a platform for cooperation among coast guards at a global scale.
“The heads also recognized the importance of deepening the understanding of shared principles of conduct in the maritime sector and strengthening the capacity of coast guards around the world so that, as ‘first responders and front-line actors,’ coast guards can meet the challenges facing the world and pass on ‘peaceful, beautiful and bountiful seas’ to the next generation.”
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