World Maritime Day Celebrates International Shipping

Today marks the 28th celebration of World Maritime Day, the annual occasion when the International Maritime Organization (IMO) leads the world in honoring shipping. This year the theme for World Maritime Day is International Shipping - Carrier of World Trade and is intended to highlight the importance and significance of shipping along with IMO's work in promoting safety, security and efficiency in the industry together with protecting the marine environment. The Organization's work is accepted as a key element in supporting shipping's indispensable role in sustaining world trade. Addressing the international maritime community in his World Maritime Day message, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos has highlighted the fact that "shipping affects us all. No matter where you may be in the world, if you look around you it is almost certain that you will see something that either has been, or will be, transported by sea, whether in the form of raw materials, components or the finished article." Mitropoulos said: "The sea knows no international boundaries and, although most maritime enterprise takes place out of sight of land, the ship is as important now as it ever was, perhaps more so. Standards of living in the industrialized and developed world, the jobs and livelihoods of billions in the developing world, all depend on ships and shipping. For IMO, creating the conditions in which international shipping can operate safely, securely and with a minimal impact on the global environment remains our mission and I am confident that the diligence, expertise and commitment of all those involved in any capacity in the Organization will ensure our continued success." The Secretary-General praised the many marvels of state-of-the-art engineering and technology in shipping today that deserve to be ranked alongside the very finest achievements of our global infrastructure. "I believe we should celebrate this excellence in shipping far more often than we do and, in selecting the theme for World Maritime Day 2005 - International Shipping - Carrier of World Trade - we sincerely hoped that we (Governments, organizations, industry and all other stakeholders) would be able to draw attention to the vital role that shipping plays in underpinning international commerce and the world economy as the most efficient, safe and environmentally friendly method of transporting goods around the globe. We live in a global society which is supported by a global economy - and that economy simply could not function if it were not for ships and the shipping industry," he said. Mitropoulos also focused on the role of the seafarer in ensuring the success of shipping.

Further to continuing celebrating the World Maritime Day in London, the IMO Council has agreed that an official parallel event take place annually to encourage global celebrations of the Day in other areas of the world. This year, Portugal has offered to host the first parallel event for World Maritime Day and preparations are ongoing for an international celebration in Lisbon in November.