IMO marks World Maritime Day

This year's theme for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) World Maritime Day, 26 September, was sustainable development. IMO secretary-general Koji Sekimizu said that maritime transport was central to sustainable development, and that the maritime transportation system itself needed to be sustainable. The theme of a sustainable maritime transportation system was also discussed at an IMO symposium on the day.

United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon also issued a message for World Maritime Day, in which he said: “We value maritime transport as a cost-effective and energy-efficient link in the global supply chain". He called for the management of maritime transport to be optimised to support sustainable development.