World Maritime Day (24 September 2020)

World Maritime Day

World Maritime 2020 Theme: Sustainable shipping for a sustainable planet

The World Maritime is observed on the last Thursday of September of every year, this year it is observed on the 24th September 2020.

History 

In 1948, an international conference in Geneva adopted a convention to establish the IMO, a specialised UN agency that develops and maintains a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping. Earlier the name of IMO was the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation (IMCO) and in 1982 it was changed as International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

The main aim of IMO is to focus on areas like safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security, and the efficiency of shipping. On 17 March 1978, the first time World Maritime Day was celebrated to mark the date of the IMO Convention's entry into force in 1958. That time the organisation has 21 Member States and currently it has about 174 Member States and three associate members.

Note: The date of celebrating World Maritime Day is left to the individual governments but usually it is celebrated during the last week of September on Thursday.

This year World Maritime Day’s theme focuses on gender equality and the empowerment of women through gender-specific fellowships: by providing high-level technical training to women in the maritime sector in developing countries and generating an environment for women to develop career opportunities in maritime administrations, ports, and maritime training institutes.

World Maritime Day – Quotes

• “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don’t have that problem.” -Ronald Reagan
• “I am convinced that there is no smarter, handier, or more adaptable body of troops in the world.” -Sir Winston Churchhill
• “Every Marine is, first and foremost, a rifleman. All other conditions are secondary.” -Gen. A. M. Gray
• “A Ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons.” -Adm. David Dixon Porter
• “A lot of people attack the sea, I make love to it.” -Jacques Yves Cousteau
• “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible,but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.” – Vincent Van Gogh
• “I can’t control the wind but I can adjust the sail.” – Ricky Skaggs
• “Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.” -Brooks Atkinson
• “Of all the things that man has made, no is so full of interest and charm, none possesses so distinct a life and character of its own, as a ship.”- Henry Van Dyke

World Maritime day Activities

The sacrifices and the hardships of the seafarers and those on the sea are often left unnoticed. Let us observe this day to encourage and support all the maritime workers across the world. A few of the activities that can be conducted to observe World maritime day are listed below.

• Conduct activities at school to let the children be aware of the career options in maritime.
• Conduct Awareness campaign at schools and colleges to let students know the importance of a career in the maritime field for every nation.
• For younger students schools can arrange a visit to a port nearby and help them learn more about the technical and mechanical aspects of the working of the ship.
• Competitions can be conducted at school with a theme related to protecting the oceans and marine life thus putting light on the importance of sustainable living in oceans too.
• Conduct surveys and find out the seafarers and maritime workers in your locality and send them an appreciation card online to appreciate their line of work at the sea.