Members of Vanuatu’s maritime sector joined the Minister of Infrastructure and Public Utilities Jotham Napat, in a parade to commemorate World Maritime Day in Port Vila today.
The parade was led by the Vanuatu Mobile Force band.
The programme included discussions about different national maritime laws and regulations; combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities within Vanuatu EEZ and regionally and the protection of unlawful transhipment of weapons, drugs and people across national boarder.
Minister Napat highlighted the role of seafarers who work every day in good and bad weather conditions
“This is not to say that the role of seafarers in the trade thriving at sea stands diminished. The contribution of seafarers is unique in its own way.
The Office of the Maritime Regulator (OMR)also emphasized shipping safety and stating OMR’s role in ensuring safety requirements and procedures are compiled to ensure vessel’s safety, that of passengers and cargo.
The World Maritime Day theme for 2018 is “Better Shipping for a Better Future”
The theme was chosen to focus on the critical link between shipping and global society and to raise awareness of the relevance of the role of IMO as the global regulatory body for international shipping.
Without shipping the import and export of goods on the scale necessary to sustain the modern world would not be possible.
Today, around 90% of world trade is carried by the international shipping industry.