The safety and security of life at sea, protection of the marine environment and over 90% of the world's trade depends on the professionalism and competence of seafarers. That is why IMO's International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), must be ratified and then implemented properly.
IMO provides member states with training and capacity building, to support ratification and implementation of IMO treaties. In Tibar, Timor-Leste (July 22-26), IMO held a workshop on the ratification and effective implementation of the STCW Convention where participants from various government and port agencies learned how they would be able to effectively implement the provisions of the 1978 STCW Convention, as amended, to achieve the knowledge and skills demanded by increasingly sophisticated shipping industry.
As of 2019, 164 nations, representing 99.2 percent of world shipping tonnage, have ratified the STCW treaty. Timor-Leste became a Member of IMO in 2005.