The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has joined the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Centre for International Maritime Affairs (CIMAG) in commemorating this year’s World Maritime Day.
The World Maritime Day theme for 2021, ‘Seafarers: at the core of shipping’s future,’ aims to raise awareness of seafarers by emphasizing the vital role they play today and will continue to play in the future.
Ships carry 80 percent of global commerce, and the maritime supply chain is backed by more than 1 million seafarers, who are critical in providing the services required to operate our society.
Even as the globe slowed as a consequence of the pandemic, seafarers maintained the supply chain operating to guarantee goods arrived at their destination.
This enabled global commerce to continue, but at a high cost to the seafarers.
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented crew change problem, affecting hundreds of thousands of sailors and, in many cases, leaving them trapped aboard ships after their contracts have expired.
The crisis has now been going on for almost a year and a half, and the most recent data indicates that things are growing worse.
“Our collective failure to properly address the crew-change crisis puts the seafarers, who are key in supporting global trade, in an unacceptable situation. It prevents them from returning home to their loved ones and the extended periods at sea have significant consequences on their physical and mental wellbeing” CIMAG said.
It added that “If left unresolved, the impact of the difficulties in carrying out crew-changes could expand as seafarers understandably enough start considering whether they want to return to the sea, which could pose a threat to the resilience of global supply chains.”
The World Maritime theme for 2021 is also linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 4 on education and training, SDG 8 on decent work, SDG 9 on innovation and industry, which is linked to the promotion of a resilient maritime sector, and SDG 5 on gender equality, which is linked to efforts to promote seafaring as a career for all, including women.
The 2021 theme is also a continuation of and is closely connected to, the 2020 theme ‘Sustainable Shipping for a Sustainable Planet,’ to emphasize the role that seafarers will play in assuring shipping’s sustainable future.
With the maritime sector being the lifeblood of the global economy, CIMAG urges governments and other stakeholders to prioritize the wellbeing of seafarers for the sake of humanity’s existence.
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