Shipping Industry Urges UN to Help Free Seafarers Trapped in Ukraine
The maritime industry is urging the United Nations to help free hundreds of seafarers and dozens of ships that remain trapped in Ukrainian waters a year after Russia's invasion.In a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres, an international group of shipping companies and organizations urgently called for diplomatic efforts toward the immediate release of the 331 seafarers still trapped on 62 vessels in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov."Our seafarers are the heart of our industry and cannot be forgotten. For 12 months now they have been caught up in a crisis far beyond their control.
More Needs to Be Done to Improve Gender Equality in the Maritime Sector
Maritime transport is the backbone of international trade and the global economy. Approximately 80% of global trade by volume and in excess of 70% of global trade by value is carried by sea, and millions of tons of goods are handled by ports worldwide according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).South Africa is positioned on a major shipping route with an expansive coastline that traverses two oceans and spans nearly 4 000 kilometers. The country has a vibrant maritime sector that boasts eight commercial ports and 44 non-commercial harbors; approximately 30% of South
UN Bodies Call for More Action to End Crew Change Crisis
continued global collaboration to address the crew change crisis that at times during the COVID-19 pandemic has left more than 400,000 seafarers stranded at sea.In a joint statement issued on February 28, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) say new challenges and variants of concern like Omicron threaten to worsen the plight of the world’s seafarers, who play a vital role in global trade.They note that as COVID-19 travel restrictions eased
InterManager to Source Vaccinations for Seafarers
sufficient in recognizing the importance of the vaccination of seafarers we will now work on sourcing vaccinations separately through legitimate channels to enable our members to vaccinate their seafarers as soon as possible and to support others within the maritime industry to do the same.”The United Nations has designated seafarers as essential workers, but so far only 58 countries have followed this directive and are prioritizing seafarers to enable them to travel to and from vessels. In addition, vast numbers of seafarers originate from developing countries where the official rollout of vaccinations
IMO Sec Gen: The Crew Change Crisis Remains a Challenge
number needing to join ships.Thanks to concerted efforts by Governments, shipowners and others, this figure is now estimated at 200,000 seafarers needing repatriation and a similar number needing to join ships. One of the major achievements of last year contributing to this was the adoption of the United Nations Assembly resolution calling on UN Member States to designate seafarers and other marine personnel as key workers and to implement relevant measures to allow stranded seafarers to be repatriated and others to join ships, and to ensure access to medical care.But we cannot be complacent. Fewer than
IMO Head Urges Governments to Resolve Crew Change Crisis
the 11-months limit set out in the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC). Many have been denied proper access to medical care and shore leave, in breach of their rights under the MLC and other international instruments.This week the IMO head issued strong statement ahead of the General Assembly of the United Nations calling on governments in fresh call to action to resolve the crew change crisis.'“While significant progress has been made by many countries in allowing for crew changes for all seafarers, the rate of progress is not keeping pace with the backlog of ships requiring crew changes,&rdquo
Life on Hold for Many Philippine Seafarers
said remittances worldwide are set to fall by about 20% - or $142 billion - this year, worse than in the 2009 financial crisis.One in nine hitSuch a loss would cut a crucial lifeline to many families, as one in nine people globally benefitted from international remittances in 2019, according to the United Nations.Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who headed the country’s national task force on the coronavirus response, said more than 92,000 overseas workers had been repatriated after losing their jobs abroad, most of them seafarers.Another 200,000 Filipino workers are stranded in dozens of countries
ONE SEA Appoints Lehtovaara Chairman
pace of shipboard automation.Previously head of ABB Marine & Ports’ Design House, Eero sits on ABS and Lloyd’s Register technical committees, is Chairman of CIMAC’s working group on azimuthing propulsion standards and is ABB’s delegate at the Global Environment Facility, United Nations Development Program, International Maritime Organization alliance.Continuation of the collaborative approach is confirmed by the appointment of Wärtsilä Vice President, Digital Portfolio Management Mikko Tepponen as new ONE SEA vice chairman
Wallenius Wilhelmsen CEO Joins WISTA
Today is the celebration of International Maritime Organization (IMO) World Maritime Day, where the 2019 theme is “Empowering Women in the Maritime Community“.This raises awareness of the importance of gender equality, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and highlights the important – yet under-utilized – contribution of women within the maritime sector.Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) promotes diversity in the maritime, trading and logistics sectors. WISTA‘s vision is to empower women to lead, with
STEM is so 'Yesterday’s News'
Recently I was attending the United Nations Science Technology and Innovation conference (STI Forum). While I attended to present on Wave Energy Conversion, the main subject at the conference was STEM education and STEM gender inequality. Almost every country in the world reports a lack of available STEM educated workers, and also reports that they have had problems engaging the non-male population in STEM professions.The discussions were extremely far and wide ranging, but when all was said and done, the single sense I came away with is that nobody at the United Nations had a clear idea on solving
IMO Movie Promotes Gender Diversity
rooms and communications, and intelligence, so it's definitely improved," says Lieutenant Alma Pinelo, an officer in the Belize Coast Guard. Lieutenant Pinelo is one of hundreds of women who have benefitted from IMO's Women in Maritime program.The program, initiated in 1988, supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The program supports the participation of women in both shore-based and sea-going posts, under the slogan Training-Visibility-Recognition, through a wide range of gender-specific activities.IMO Member States
OSM CEO to Build Opportunities for Female Seafarers
company, believes a healthier gender balance will help shipping in the quest for long-term success and commercial sustainability.OSM is a leader in the ship management segment, with over 500 vessels in the fleet, approximately 30 office locations and some 11,000 expert seafarers. As a member of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) the company is focused on supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including that of Gender Equality (SDG 5).There is, Larsen says ahead of this week’s International Women’s Day, much to be done to achieve that objective.Strength in diversity&nb
Empowering Women in the Maritime
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has launched a new logo for its Women in Maritime programme, as part of its mission to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.Programme lead Helen Buni said: "The IMO Women in Maritime programme supports the participation of women in both shore-based and sea-going posts, under the slogan Training-Visibility-Recognition’, through a wide range of gender-specific activities. The new logo is just one visible part of the programme and will help women in maritime gain more
Maritime Education to Focus on Quality
As a United Nations agency, International Maritime Organization (IMO) is firmly committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, one of which is about delivering quality education.A press note from the UN agency said that an important element of its efforts in this regard are its two maritime educational institutions – the World Maritime University (WMU) and the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI). Both are focussed on delivering high-level education in maritime-related subjects to students from developing countries.Sunday 4 November saw the graduation ceremony for WMU’s
Training Caribbean Maritime Women
is being held in Belize City, Belize (October 16-19).This type of scheme is consistent with International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Women in Maritime program, which supports the participation of women in both shore-based and sea-going posts, in line with the goals outlined under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls".The mentorship model will be used as a blueprint throughout the IMO-supported regional Women in Maritime Associations.The WiMAC meeting also discussed ways to increase the visibility of the network
World Maritime Day Theme 2019: Empowering Women
"Empowering Women in the Maritime Community" has been selected as the World Maritime Day theme for 2019. This will provide an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of gender equality, in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to highlight the important contribution of women all over the world to the maritime sector. The Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), meeting for its 120th session at IMO Headquarters in London, endorsed the theme, following a proposal by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim. “IMO
Port Security Training in Dominican Republic
Facility Security (ISPS Code) and SOLAS Chapter XI-2 (click for details). Participants are also being taught to train other officials with similar responsibilities. The workshop follows a 2016 national table top exercise on maritime security, organized in cooperation with the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC). The 2016 exercise identified a number of recommendations for further training, parts of which are being addressed by this week’s workshop. IMO facilitates this by
