Roundtable on global shipping and geopolitics

Speech by IMO Secretary-General, Mr. Arsenio Dominguez. Delivered 28 February 2024, Helsinki, Finland.

Fashion. 

I’d like to start by talking about fashion.

No, I do realise that I’m at a shipping conference. 

If you’re wearing one, push up your jacket and have a good close look at the sleeve of your shirt or blouse. Go ahead, have a really good close look at the weave. Now look at the sleeves worn by all the people around you.

For those of you with no wrinkles on your sleeve, aren’t you glad you used the iron! 

Assume for one moment that the raw cotton to make your item of clothing was harvested in Texas. From there, it might have then been sent to China where it was milled into finished cloth. After that, it might have gone to Bangladesh for sewing into that garment that you’re wearing before it was sent back to Austin or perhaps London or Helsinki or wherever you bought it from. That’s one well-travelled product.

As I’m sure you already know, a piece of clothing can travel many thousands of miles before arriving in a wardrobe, but when was the last time you thought about the number of stops, distance travelled and back-and-forth of it all, along with the lack of awareness by many consumers about this process. 

And even with a much greater emphasis on, for example, buying seasonal fruit and vegetables from local farms, how often do your friends outside of the shipping or diplomatic world think about how their food gets to them. But why should they?

Road, rail and air transportation all have their role to play but as with my initial example, 90% of clothing, one of the six elements in the most basic level of the hierarchy of human needs, is transported by ship. 

Food, one of the other essential elements of our basic human needs, 60% of food miles transported by sea vs under 2% for air travel. Transporting food by air emits around 50 times as much greenhouse gases as transporting the same amount by sea and with over 80% of all goods being transported by ship, sea transport plays a critical role in keeping costs low for consumers at a time that all of us can see our weekly shopping bills increasing.

For centuries, goods have been transported around the world by ships and it happens easily and seamlessly with the benefit of millennia of experience. The shipping industry has been honed and polished to be a magnificent example of efficiency. Given the complications that mother nature throws at us, it is a miracle of human ingenuity and resilience that seafarers get ships from one part of the world to another, week in week out. 

Yet who thinks about this? Apart from ships’ crews, of course. 

When is this talked about or celebrated? Apart from conferences like this?

The answer is rarely and certainly not often enough.

And isn’t that disappointing? Isn’t it frustrating that it takes global conflicts before it reaches the consciousness of some of the 8 billion people on this planet that are clothed and fed because of the maritime industry.

When grain wasn’t reaching developing states, our industry was put under the hot sting of the spotlight. When ships became targets due to geopolitical conflicts, our industry hit the headlines. Suddenly, consumers were thinking about how their T shirts and tomatoes were being affected in terms of cost and availability due to the difficulties being faced by ships and their crews.

No seafarers, no shipping, no shopping.

Certainly, recent geopolitical unrest has added to the price volatility of all products with a 74% increase in ships travelling around Cape of Good Hope and as a result of attacks on international shipping vessels transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, I have already:

• Briefed the UN Security Council
• Met with the signatory states of the Djibouti Code of Conduct and met representatives of the industry and the Suez Canal Authority
• Met representatives of the States involved in “Operation Prosperity Guardian” and 
• Met representatives of EU Member States involved in “Operation EUNAVFOR ASPIDES”

All of the above has been done to review ways of co-operating, emphasizing the imperative for collective action, fortifying the safety of those who serve at sea and preserving freedom of navigation whilst always stressing the need for de-escalation.

IMO works hard to encourage development of new/alternative fuels, creates frameworks for the future of autonomous ships, we address bullying and all forms of harassment for seafarers, we improve training for seafarers, improve safety standards on the transport of dangerous goods and we enhance seafarers’ well-being and working conditions.

Furthermore, just a few short months ago, IMO member states came together in agreement with a clear strategy to decarbonize the shipping. An incredible achievement that few outside the maritime sector knew about. 

With so much pressure to act quickly to prevent further climate change, we work hard to make improvements on the environment as well as safety but as part of the United Nations, IMO cannot arbitrarily set the rules, all we can do is encourage, charm or cajole the member states that will sign up to change, to do so. Given the almost unimaginable differences in the levels of budget, technology and needs among our members, it is scarcely believable that we have achieved so much in our recent history.

I am reminded regularly that the work of IMO is a bit like being the patient aunt or uncle in a large, sometimes temperamental, usually highly opinionated family only more complicated, more political and much, much bigger! Can you imagine trying to get an extended family on holiday and getting them all to agree on the location, food and entertainment? Well, the IMO does this with 175 family members in the form of member states and we do it time after time.

For those of you that don’t know, I am just two months into the role of being the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization in its 75th year. Whilst that timescale may seem very short, over a period of more than 25 years I have been a delegate representing Panama at IMO, a committee Chair and an employee: Chief of Staff, Director of Administration and Director of the Environment Division. 

As the 10th in an illustrious line of talented predecessors, I intend to lead an organisation that shapes and inspires progress, one that is transparent and diverse, an organisation that can capitalize on opportunities to improve the image of and conditions within our sector. 

During my campaign, I recorded a video on the bridge of a state-of-the-art ship, impressed at the latest in navigational and safety technology and I remember saying on that video that I wouldn’t be afraid to shake things up a little.

Well brace yourself, your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, that….starts….now.

Ask yourselves honestly, ‘Am I doing enough to protect my seafarers, ships and cargoes?’

If the answer is ‘no’, then I can tell you that you not doing enough listening, collaborating and acting.

IMO will facilitate creative-thinking, co-operation and agreement; the answers to the problems we currently face are out there, but it is up to all of us to demonstrate the will and determination to find those answers.

IMO will be the support that is needed by the diplomatic and shipping community to find commonalities to mitigate threats and encourage keeping the principle of Freedom of Navigation within today's geopolitical landscape at the forefront of all of our thoughts and actions. 

I am delighted to be here in Finland and to welcome them back as a recently elected Member of the IMO Council, a country that transports over 90% of its goods via sea and which has been building ships in Turku since the 1550s. I am truly excited that our host, the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communication, is enthusiastically flag-waving to signal the importance of addressing the challenges facing global shipping.

Before the ‘time up’ music starts playing and I’m encouraged to stop talking, I have three questions for you to answer today.

One - Do you really believe in the importance of freedom of ship navigation?

Two - And what are the consequences of inaction when facing threats to that freedom?

I am very happy to tell you about IMO’s role in the idea-finding process, but my final and third question to you is - Are you all prepared to roll up those beautifully ironed cotton sleeves and work hard with a fervent belief and commitment to a shared vision that is required to deliver tangible results?

I leave you with my thanks for listening.

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