Malta Maritime Summit

4 October 2022 

Malta Maritime Summit – 3 October

"The Voice of the Industry"

Keynote speech by Kitack Lim, Secretary-General, IMO

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to join you here today for Malta Maritime Summit.

For IMO, Malta is not only a major flag registry, centre for shipping and an IMO Council Member, but also the host country for the IMO International Maritime Law Institute, offering high level training to maritime lawyers, many of whom are responsible for maritime policymaking and policy implementation worldwide.

Malta also hosts the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea, known as REMPEC, and I was pleased to open its new premises yesterday, in Sa Maison.

REMPEC is operated by IMO within the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan of the Regional Seas Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and it works collaboratively with Mediterranean States to prevent, control, and combat marine pollution in all forms.

REMPEC will be working over the coming decade to coordinate effective measures to address a range of environmental challenges, including ship-source pollution, climate change, air emissions, plastic and other marine litter, non-indigenous species, and other issues that may arise. 

Many of these issues will also be on your agenda this week, since these environmental and sustainability challenges, along with digitalization and automation are key matters for the shipping industry in this decade and beyond.

We have already experienced the unprecedented COVID pandemic, which placed many strains on shipping and seafarers. This and current geopolitical challenges have only served to increase the world's awareness of its reliance on shipping and of seafarers' invaluable role in global trade.

You will hear from many industry speakers at this summit. At IMO, our role is to create a global regulatory framework to ensure that shipping is safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient and sustainable. We then support its implementation through an extensive programme of technical assistance and capacity building to ensure that, once adopted, the standards can be implemented evenly and effectively.

We must ensure that shipping can play its part in delivering the sustainable development that is essential to our future.

As shipping evolves, IMO Member States along with the industry and partners throughout the UN system and beyond, work tirelessly to ensure the regulatory framework is constantly enhanced.

The voice of the industry is also heard, through the various international non-governmental organizations in consultative status at IMO. I appreciate their input – along with that of international NGOs giving voice to environmental concerns and those who speak on behalf of the many stakeholders involved in global shipping.

This process of communication, cooperation and collaboration at IMO is of crucial importance as shipping undergoes substantial change in many diverse ways.

This includes shipping's role in tackling climate change, which is a major topic that is high on IMO's agenda. Member States are working to adopt an upgraded GHG strategy in the middle of 2023.

IMO is also taking necessary steps to tackle other environmental issues, such as marine litter.

We must also ensure gender diversity in maritime, and we need to address the challenges and opportunities of automation and digitalization.

They are all very different strands, but they are equally important in strengthening IMO's objectives of ensuring the safety and security of shipping, the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships and the support for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

In line with the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the Glasgow Climate Pact adopted during COP 26 and the most recent IPCC climate reports, IMO is accelerating action to set the path for shipping's decarbonization.

 The upgraded GHG Strategy is set to be adopted in mid-2023 to deliver a strengthened level of ambition, in line with global agreements.

IMO Member States have also initiated discussions on a maximum carbon-content for marine fuels alongside market-based measures, such as a GHG levy, ETS, feebates or an incentive scheme to encourage development of zero emission vessels.

The green imperative – and consequently IMO regulation – is helping drive innovation in ship design, propulsion, research and investment into alternative low and zero-emission fuels.

Later this month, the Second IMO Symposium on low- and zero-carbon fuels for shipping will address how to ensure a just and inclusive transition towards low-carbon shipping.

Ports, too, will be crucial in providing the infrastructure to supply new fuels and support digitalization for greater efficiency of shipping. IMO has adopted mandatory measures for electronic data interchange between ships and ports and the 'maritime single window' for handling data within port environments.

Automation and artificial intelligence are increasingly part and parcel of daily operations for many in the shipping sector. Alongside this, we need to manage the risks of cyber security and ensure seafarers' welfare is properly taken into account, just as we need to ensure that current and future seafarers are adequately trained to handle shifting technologies.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Our collective future in maritime requires greater transparency, more sharing of data, better analysis of data and collaborative thinking. We must all work to make shipping greener and more resilient.

These are critical conversations which will be echoed here during this maritime summit.

The green and digital transition in maritime gives us an opportunity to create a sector that binds us all together. We must harness this transition for the benefit of all.

This is essential for sustainable development and to ensure we meet our global ambitions and goals to secure the needs of future generations.

Thank you.