IMO’s World Maritime Day 2025 Theme Highlights Shipping’s Role In Protecting The Oceans

World Maritime Day 2025 is being celebrated worldwide today, and this year’s theme, chosen by the IMO, ‘Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity’, highlights the importance of oceans and seas and our role in protecting them.

The oceans are a source of life, livelihoods and global maritime trade, which sustains economies. They also regulate the climate and support millions of flora and fauna.

However, the oceans are under threat due to human activities and resulting pollution.

As the biggest sector operating in the oceans, shipping has a major responsibility in safeguarding the marine environment.

The International Maritime Organisation, through its regulatory framework and several programmes for its 176 member states, paves the way for cleaner, safer seas.

The 2025 World Maritime Day theme also shows the interconnection between shipping and global initiatives, especially the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

It also highlights major international milestones, such as the UN Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).

It invites governments, agencies, and individuals to recognise that safeguarding the ocean is everyone’s duty and also an opportunity to build a more sustainable and secure future.

To mark the event, IMO Headquarters will be lit in blue light in the evening.

IMO also focuses on creating a shipping industry where more people will want to work, including women who report challenges in seagoing jobs.

Australian Maritime Safety Authority CEO Kaylene Dale said that true sustainability means caring for the people.

Seafarers are at the helm of the shipping industry, and their well-being and safety must come first, which is why AMA is committed to upholding the Maritime Labour Convention and the Port State Control regime, Kaylene added.

IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez shared this video message on the occasion.

Video Credits: IMOHQ

Source: Maritime Shipping News