World Maritime Day 2024 – Safety on the Waves

Every year on the last Thursday of September, we celebrate World Maritime Day, established to commemorate the founding of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1958. This year’s theme, “Navigating the Future: Safety First,” highlights the critical importance of comprehensive protection of life at sea. The sea claims thousands of lives each year – sailors, fishermen, and often passengers.

Five decades of SOLAS

This year’s World Maritime Day coincides with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). Its aim was to establish universal standards for the construction, equipment, and operation of vessels – from warships to recreational yachts – to prevent the recurrence of maritime disasters.

Within the 15 chapters of SOLAS, issues such as fire protection, maritime rescue, crisis communication, and the transport of dangerous goods are addressed. The document also sets out port control rules, vessel stability requirements, and the necessary equipment for lifeboats. It even covers nuclear fuel, high-speed ferries, hydrofoils, and offshore platform workers – in short, all circumstances that pose a threat to life at sea.

How is World Maritime Day celebrated?

On September 26, as every year, the International Maritime Organization will illuminate its headquarters in blue light. Institutions around the world are joining this initiative – in 2023, “maritime” lighting appeared on bridges, ships, buildings, and ports from Guatemala to Myanmar and Sweden. This year, the Maritime Office in Gdynia will also “shine” blue.

Additionally, as part of World Maritime Day, an IMO symposium on extreme weather at sea is taking place in London from September 23-26. Its goal is to find solutions that minimize risk for ships – from collecting meteorological data to better warning systems and maritime cooperation.

Maritime disasters over the years

Few realize that fishing is one of the most dangerous professions. Research published in 2022 by the FISH Safety Foundation indicates that around 100,000 people die each year worldwide in connection with fishing – up to four times more than previous estimates. Among the most shocking reports are cases of child labor exploitation and forcing workers into deep-sea diving to search for lobsters.

Many fishing boats are poorly equipped and maintained, yet they embark on ever-longer voyages due to growing economic pressure and the depletion of coastal resources. According to FAO data, up to 90% of the 15 million marine fishermen work on boats less than 24 meters long. Their lives are particularly threatened by extreme weather phenomena such as tropical cyclones. In India in 2018, during Cyclone Ockhi, 191 fishermen went missing at sea – their bodies were never found.

Maritime disasters also affect larger ships. Exactly a decade ago in South Korea, the Sewol ferry sank with 476 people on board, including over 300 students. Only 172 passengers were rescued. In 2008, during Typhoon Fengshen, over 800 passengers of the Philippine ferry Princess of the Stars lost their lives, while two years earlier, the Egyptian ferry Al-Salam Boccaccio 98 sank in the Red Sea, taking more than 1,000 lives with it. In each of these cases, investigators found clear human errors that could have been avoided.

World Maritime Day is a time to reflect on our vulnerability to the power of the sea and to remember the critical role that adherence to international safety standards plays. The sea is not only a majestic ecosystem that is the source of life on Earth, but also a powerful force of nature that, in the face of increasingly unpredictable climate conditions, can take lives, health, and livelihoods.