IMO Secretary General Kitack Lim has officially opened the new Maritime Safety Research Centre (MSRC) at the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom. In his inaugural address, Mr Lim said that the centre could play an important role in the shift of maritime safety from empirical to risk-informed legislation and goal-based standards. The MSRC is an industry/university partnership, involving Strathclyde's Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine Engineering, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, and the classification society DNV GL. It will aim to improve safety at sea through a close collaboration between industry and academia.