On 29 September, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) celebrated the World Maritime Day 2016. The theme “Shipping: indispensable to the world” selected for the event was chosen to focus on the critical link between shipping and global society and to raise awareness of the relevance of the role of IMO as the global regulatory body for international shipping. The importance of shipping to support and sustain today’s global society gives IMO’s work a significance that reaches far beyond the industry itself.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), around 80 per cent of global trade by volume and over 70 per cent of global trade by value are carried by sea and are handled by ports worldwide. These shares are even higher in the case of most developing countries. Without shipping the import and export of goods on the scale necessary to sustain the modern world would not be possible.
The Parallel event of the World Maritime Day will be held in Istanbul on 4-6 November. For more information please visit http://www.worldmaritimedayturkey.com/index
