About the Maritime Capacity Alliance

The Maritime Capacity Alliance is a civil-military collective of chain partners that share knowledge, innovate and collaborate to achieve an agile, reciprocal and sustainable chain partnership in the field of hybrid deployment of resources, combining distinctive qualities and developing a sustainable and hybrid workforce within the maritime and logistics domain. The MCA is based on the reciprocal deployment of personnel, equipment and knowledge & innovation whereby the individual interests, contributions and preconditions of partners are strengthened and converted into an alliance with a collective interest, contribution and preconditions.

Our goals

Goal of the Maritime Capacity Alliance The aim of the MCA is to mutually absorb each other’s (peak) loads by;

Jointly and worldwide flexible access to resources such as fleet with guaranteed and varied (sea) transport capacity, survey, diving, hydrographic and training vessels.
Educate, train, learn and gain experience of each other’s best practices and combine each other’s distinctive qualities such as crane simulator training, technical management, soil investigation, leadership training.
Jointly contribute to the sustainable development of a hybrid workforce for the maritime sector, jointly recruit and retain personnel with the right competence and experience.

Reason and Context

Strengthening maritime transport and training capacity, as well as the reciprocal deployment of people, resources and manners with the business community is an initiative of Defense. ‘From defensive to adaptive’ has been an important motto for Defense-wide since 2017.

Since 2018, Defense has conducted pilots with the business community in the field of strategic sea transport, training, knowledge sharing and innovation. This involved investigating where they can reinforce each other and how people, resources and ways can be used in a reciprocal manner.

The results of these pilots were so positive for all chain partners that the partnership with several chain partners will be expanded, striving for long-term cooperation with a time horizon of 10 years.By increasing the duration of at least 10 years and the intensity of collaboration with and between the partners and by looking after the collective interest, contribution and preconditions of the collaboration, we build trust, innovate, adapt processes to each other, plan together , we learn, have additional and each other’s capabilities and we improve our availability rate and operating result and we grow as an individual partner and as an agile and future-proof alliance.

The Maritime Capacity Alliance as part of the Total Force

The Maritime Capacity Alliance is one of the civil-military partnerships that has emerged defense-wide as part of Total Force. The development of the Maritime Capacity Alliance responds to geopolitical developments and the strategic task (Staying Safe, Bringing Security, Connecting Safely) between Defense and the business community, civil society organisations, knowledge institutes and national partners. In this way we strengthen civil-military cooperation in the field of Combat Service Support in the field of guaranteed strategic sea transport capacity, national security and social resilience.

By increasing the duration, the form of cooperation and the intensity of cooperation with the partners and by looking after the collective interest, contribution and preconditions of the cooperation, we build trust together, innovate, adapt processes to each other, plan together , we learn together, we have extra and each other’s capabilities and we improve our availability rate and operating result. Along this path of cooperation and full transparency, we grow as an individual partner and as an agile and future-proof collective for the Dutch armed forces, NATO and EU partners. The MCA is therefore a group of partners and Defense is no longer a customer, but an active partner in the collective. We reinforce each other, add value to each other, we develop knowledge, strength and skills together, and we also prepare ourselves through exercises for the unpredictable, each based on his/her specific expertise. The Business Case becomes a Value Case.

The maritime capacity alliance

Sharing knowledge

Educating, training, learning and gaining experience of each other's best practices and combining each other's distinctive qualities such as crane simulator training, technical management, soil investigation, leadership training.

More experience together

Jointly contributing to the sustainable development of a hybrid workforce for the maritime sector, recruit and retain personnel with the right competence and experience.

Sharing resources

Jointly and worldwide flexible access to resources such as a fleet with guaranteed and varied (sea) transport capacity, survey, diving, hydrographic and training vessels.