Meeting of IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez with MTWTU Youth

The International Maritime Organization is the United Nations specialized agency charged with developing standards for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and implemented worldwide. The safety of human life at sea has been a key priority for the IMO since it began its work in 1959. The IMO has 176 member states and three associate members. Ukraine became a member of the IMO in 1994.

The meeting with future industry professionals was held at the Maritime Union Center of the Marine Transport Workers' Trade Union of Ukraine (MTWTU) with the support of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine and the State Service for Maritime, Inland Waterway Transport and Shipping of Ukraine.

During his speech to the youth, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez emphasised the importance of supporting seafarers in the difficult conditions they are facing nowadays, "We see a challenging situation in the Black and Red Seas, an increased incidence of piracy and armed attacks on ships. Seafarers should be able to do their jobs without risking their lives. I call on shipowners, ship operators and IMO Member States to step up their efforts, including to improve living conditions on board, to ensure more diversity and to attract women to the maritime profession. We need to redouble our efforts to increase our focus on seafarers' safety and training.

Today, there is a shortage of qualified specialists in this field around the world, which opens up new prospects. You have a chance to be part of the change in shipping, where we are working on decarbonisation, automatisation and safety."

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the International Maritime Organisation has taken a number of important decisions to support Ukraine, such as the revocation of russia's membership in the IMO Council and the termination of russia's participation in any IMO technical cooperation activities. The IMO issued a demand that russia stop its military actions in the Black and Azov Seas and introduced the practice of regularly informing IMO member states about the impact of russia's armed invasion on international shipping.

MTWTU Chairman, IMO Goodwill Maritime Ambassador in Ukraine, IFSMA Vice President Oleg Grygoriuk expressed his gratitude to the IMO Secretary-General for his efforts aimed at the seafarers' safety around the world and paid attention to the steps taken to improve the state of the maritime industry in Ukraine, "We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your efforts in securing the release of the crew members of the Galaxy Leader, including three Ukrainian citizens, who were held captive by Yemeni Houthis for over a year. This is yet another reminder that, even in today's modern and developed world, shipping remains not entirely safe and can still be used as a tool for manipulation. We would also like to acknowledge your inspiring speech at the 46th ITF Congress in Marrakech, where you expressed support for six key demands aimed at improving seafarers' working conditions and social protection. Finally, we extend our special thanks for your strong support of Ukrainian seafarers, which you voiced during the Ukrainian Maritime Forum — an event organized by MTWTU and the State Service for Maritime, Inland Waterway Transport and Shipping of Ukraine in London last summer.”

Andrii Kashuba, the Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, emphasised Ukraine's role in global shipping and the importance of investing in specialist training, "Ukraine, which has a rich history and significant potential in the maritime industry, has been and remains one of the key suppliers of highly qualified workers for international shipping. We understand that to preserve and further develop this potential, it is necessary to actively work on training competent specialists. One of Ukraine's priorities, both now and in the future, especially in the maritime sector, is to ensure high-quality professional education, training and advanced qualification of maritime specialists. Important components of this process include improving the legal framework to provide appropriate educational services, certification of seafarers and ensuring unimpeded access to the profession, all of which contribute to the competitiveness of Ukrainian seafarers on an international level."

Then, the discussion focused on the future of the maritime industry as seen by youth, modern seafarer training standards, digitalisation trends, environmental safety and sustainable development in shipping. Students and cadets of Ukrainian maritime educational institutions took an active part in the discussion, asking questions about international opportunities for young professionals, the development of maritime education and the prospects for the integration of Ukrainian seafarers into the global labour market. The participants of the meeting included representatives of the academic staff, administration and students of the following institutions: National University “Odessa Maritime Academy” (NUOMA), Odesa National Maritime University, Kherson State Maritime Academy, Danube Institute of the NUOMA, and the Maritime Transport Professional College of the NUOMA.

The visit of the IMO Secretary-General to Ukraine was an important signal of support for the Ukrainian maritime community and opened up new opportunities for cooperation between Ukrainian maritime educational institutions, the MTWTU and the International Maritime Organization.