World Maritime Day is observed every year on the last Thursday of every September. This year it will be observed on September 30, 2021.
The purpose of the day is to appreciate the importance of the maritime industry and to emphasize the need to ensure maritime security and safety, shipping and the protection of the marine environment.
The theme for this year’s World Maritime Day is “Seafarers: at the core of shipping’s future”.
The World Maritime Theme for 2021, “Seafarers: at the core of shipping’s future” seeks to increase the visibility of seafarers by drawing attention to the invaluable role they play now and will continue to play in the future.
The focus on seafarers comes as the COVID-19 pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on seafarers, with hundreds of thousands of men and women stranded on ships for months beyond their original contracts, unable to be repatriated due to national travel restrictions. A similar number of seafarers are unable to join ships and earn a living. This crew change crisis, which has been ongoing for nearly a year, is a humanitarian emergency that threatens the safety of shipping.
The 2021 theme aims to draw attention to seafarers, their role in supplying supplies, and the challenges they face. Such a flexible wording as “the core of shipping’s future” allows us to pay attention to the widest range of issues: labor protection of merchant marine workers, safety at sea, environmental protection, legal issues, and even the prospects of the seafarer profession itself against the backdrop of growing automation and informatization of cargo transportation.
Going forward, the IMO building, including the Seafarer Memorial, will be bathed in blue light on each World Maritime Day as a symbolic initiative to unite the maritime community and raise awareness of the vital contribution of shipping to the world. In 2021, the official events of the International Maritime Organization are scheduled for September 30, however, each country can choose any date, for example, the EU celebrated Maritime Day in May 2021.
Based on materials ecoinfo.bas-net.by
