DECK LOG American Maritime Museums on the International Stage "Cultural differences should not separate us from each other, but rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all ofhumanity." -Robert Alan (American writer, artist and social activist; 1922-1978)
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his November the National M aritime H istorical Society will be joining maritime museum leaders fro m around the world in Hong Kong for the 17rh International Congress of M aritime Museums (ICMM) Conference, hosted by the H ong Kong Maritime Museum with M acau M aritime Museum as a supporting organization. The conference theme is aptly "Connections," since the worldwide connections seafarers have made simply by the naHong Kong Maritime Museum ture of sailing the wo rld 's oceans is unparalleled . The conference brings international delegates toge ther to netwo rk, share expertise and resources, to learn about the latest best prac tices in m aritime museum operations, and to plan exhibits that speak to our global culture. A look at some of our most revered preserved historic ships in this country remind us of our global connections: San Diego's Star ofIndia was built at a shipyard in the Isle of M ann; South Street Seaport's two mighty square riggers are British- and German-built; San Francisco's Balclutha and Galveston's Elissa were built in Scotland; even the Josep h Conrad at Mys tic Seaport was originally a D anish training ship. While we are the National Maritime Historical Society, the heritage we work to preserve and promote is indeed a global one as well, and we seek to engage with the international maritime heritage community at every opportunity to keep your Society on the forefront of what's going on in our field . 1he IC MM is led by Dr. Kevin Fewster, director of Royal M useums G reenwich, the largest and most visited m aritime museum in the world. The conference's keynote speakers Koji Sekimizu, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization; Xu Z uyuan, Director of the C hina Maritime Museum; Richard W esley, Director of the Hong Kong M aritime Museum; and Lincoln Paine, author of the acclaimed Sea and Civilization and former Sea H istory editor, will each speak on their ins titutions and specialties . O f particular interest is the work going on in underwater archeology and conservation of submerged ships and artifac ts. Delegates will hear from Jiang Bo from C hina's Center of Underwater C ultural H eritage Protection, James Delgado from N OAA's M aritime H eritage Program , and Fred Hocker from the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. A visit to the M aritime Silk Road Museum will be a highlight of the week. Located on H ailing Island, Yangjiang, in G uangdong Province, the museum was designed to accommodate entire shipwrecks submerged in water tanks so that they may be displayed to the public during conservation, which can take years. The main exhibition consists of the remains of the Nanhai No. 1 shipwreck, an 800-year-old C hinese merchant ship that sank off Hailing Island at the end of the tenth century and was raised in 2007. N anhai No. I is being conserved and is on display in a giant water tank in the museum's "Crystal Palace," along with more than 200 artifacts from the
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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PU BLISH ER'S C IRC LE: Peter Aro n, G uy E. C. M aitland, Ronald L. Oswald O FFICERS & TRUSTEES: Chairman, Ronald L. O swald; Vice Chairman, Richardo R. Lopes; President, Burchenal Green; Vice Presidents, D eirdre O 'Regan, We ndy Paggiotra, Nancy Schnaars; Treasurer, H oward Slotnick; Secretary, Jean Wort; Trustees: Charles B. Anderson; Walter R. Brown; Thomas Daly; W illian1 S. Dudley; David S. Fowler; W illiam Jackso n Green; Karen Helmerson; Robert Kamm; Richard M. Larrabee; Guy E. C. Maitland; Capt. Brian McAll ister; CAPT Sally Chin McElwreath, USN (Ret.); Capt. James J. McNamara; Michael W Morrow; Richard Patrick O 'Leary; ADM Robert ]. Papp Jr., USCG (Ret.); Timothy J. Runyan; Richard Scarano; Philip J. Shapiro; Capt. Cesare Sario; Roberta Weisbrod; Chairmen Emeriti: Walter R. Brown, Alan G. Choate, Guy E. C. Maitlan d, H oward Slotnick; President Emeritus, Peter Stanford FOUN D ER: Karl Kortum ( l9 17-1996) O VERSEERS: Chairman, RADM David C. Brown, USM S (Ret.); RADM Joseph F. Callo, USN (Ret.); C live C ussler; Richard du Mo ulin; Alan D. Hutch ison; Jakob Isbrandtsen; Gary Jobson; Sir Robin Knox-Johnston; John Lehman; H . C. Bowen Smith ; John Stobart; Philip J. Webster; W illiam H . W hi te; W ill iam W interer NMH S ADVISORS : Chairman, M elbourne Smi th ; Geo rge Bass, Oswald Brett, Francis Duffy, John Ewald, T imothy Foote, Wi lliam G ilkerso n, Steven A. Hyman , J. Russell Jinishian, Gunnar Lundeberg, Conrad M ilster, W illiam G. M uller, Stuart Parnes, Lori D illard Rech, Nancy Hughes Richardson, Bert Rogers, Joyce Huber SEA HISTORY E DI TO R IAL A DV ISORY BOARD : Chairman, T imothy Runyan ; No rman Brouwer, Robert Browning, W ill iam Dudley, Daniel Finamore, Kevin Foster, John Jensen, Joseph Meany, Lisa No rling, Carla Rahn Phillips, Walter Rybka, Q uenti n Snediker, W illiam H. Wh ite
NMHS STAFF: Executive Director, Burchenal Green; Membership Director, Nancy Schnaars; Business Manager, Pete Yozzo; Marketing Director, Steve Lovass-Nagy; Director of Public Relations, Lisa Fine; Membership Coordinator, Barbara Itty SEA HISTORY: Editor, Deird re O'Rega n; Advertising, Wendy Paggiotta; Copy Editor, Shelley Reid; Editor-at-Large, Peter Stanfo rd Sea History is prinred by The Lane Press, Soum Burlington, Vermont, USA.
-Burchenal Green, NMHS President SEA HISTORY 152, AUTUMN 2015