The Institute for African Maritime Development has made proposals towards ensuring the safety of seafarers as Ghana on Thursday, September 30, 2021, joins the rest of the world to celebrate World Maritime Day.
The World Maritime Day is a special occasion in the maritime industry.
The theme for the 2021 edition is ‘Seafarers: at the core of shipping’s future’. It reflects the essential role seafarers continue to play in promoting maritime trade across the globe.
In a statement, the Institute said it was important to create awareness for the visibility of seafarers by paying profound tribute to their significant contributions towards the global supply chain.
It thus proposed a three point strategic intervention to ensure the enhancement of the standard of living and working conditions of seafarers.
They are as follows:
1. The various Port and Flag state control (PSC & FSC) must ensure the strict compliance of the Maritime Labour Convention, MLC 2006, which is essential to improving on the wellbeing and health of seafarers, and a decent work and economic growth under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.
2. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) together with other relevant stakeholders must undertake an assessment of the MLC 2006, measure its impact thus far on the living and working conditions of seafarers and make the necessary amendments accordingly.
3. Stringent sanctions must be applied to Port and Flag state countries who have not yet ratified and or have inferior laws to the Maritime Labour Convention, MLC 2006.
“To this end, we join many other stakeholders to extend our warm appreciation to all seafarers across the nations of the world”, the statement added.
The World Maritime theme for 2021 is to provide the opportunity to focus on seafarers as the people at the heart of shipping, while also allowing for activities to delve into specific topics relevant to the role of the seafarer in safety, maritime security, environmental protection and seafarersʹ well-being; and the future of seafaring against a backdrop of increased digitalization and automation.
The theme also links to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 on education and training; SDG 8 related to decent work; SDG 9 on innovation and industry, which links to the promotion of a resilient maritime sector; and SDG 5 on gender equality, linked to efforts to promote seafaring as a career for all, including women, in particular.