BY Professor JOHN TZOANNOS S ecretar y General M inistr y of M ercantile M arine
well-trained seafarers, mostly officers, worldwide. According to a recent report by Drewry Shipping Consultants, it is estimated that the shortfall of officers worldwide will reach 42 700 by 2013 on a projected supply of 573 000 adjusted to take into account an increase on newbuilding cancellations and scrapping. It is therefore imperative that all stakeholders in the shipping industry should intensify their efforts to attract to the maritime profession and educate properly the right calibre of young people.
the Aegean and Island Polic y
In addition to the campaigns to this effect undertaken at national or international level it is also imperative to avoid measures that criminalize the seafaring profession as in the cases of accidental maritime pollution or treat them as second-class citizens by the authorities in certain ports. This is why we strongly believe that the ILO Maritime Labour Convention -the so called 'fourth pillar' of the shipping regulatory system, adopted in 2006- reflects a sincere, collective, global effort to reduce negative aspects of the seafaring profession that might have been causing young people to look elsewhere for their income. The Greek government enjoys widespread international acknowledgement for its positive contribution to the development and adoption of the said Convention. We are currently working to adjust accordingly our national legislation at a much earlier date than the deadline envisaged and we are focusing on a substantive and uniform implementation of the relevant requirements on board Greek merchant ships. Moreover, our country that has suffered from incidents of unfair treatment of seafarers after the Prestige and the Tasman Spirit accidents, had a leading role in the development and adoption by both IMO and ILO of the Guidelines on Fair Treatment of Seafarers in the Event of a Maritime Accident, which our ministry has communicated to all national parties involved.
the banking sector and its customers, bearing in mind that the former is the immediate beneficiary of the aforementioned action by governments. Another threat to the shipping industry as a result of the current economic and financial turmoil is the propensity in some parts of the world for a return to protectionism. For Greek shipping, which depends primarily on cross-trading, such a development would obviously be very negative. Fortunately the measures adopted so far following the deliberation among world leaders (e.g. the recent G20 Summit) have not reversed the regulatory framework that promotes international trade without barriers. The crisis should not lead us astray from the policies that would address effectively the major challenges facing the shipping industry. The number one challenge in my view is that of the growing shortage of
The current crisis should not lead us away from our hard efforts to continuously enhance maritime safety and security as well as to address the problem of air emissions from shipping. There is zero-tolerance to activities or omissions that undermine these conditions. However, policies adopted should be based on proper studies analysing all the parameters of the issue addressed so as to achieve objectives such as the reduction of environmental pollution, whilst avoiding unnecessary negative side effects. In fact, we should co-operate closely with key participants in the international fore -such as the IMO- and strive to work out international solutions in order to establish a common level playing field worldwide, given that shipping constitutes an international activity.
Our country that has suffered from incidents of unfair treatment of seafarers after the Prestige and the Tasman Spirit accidents, had a leading role in the development and adoption by both IMO and ILO of the Guidelines on Fair Treatment of Seafarers in the Event of a Maritime Accident 25