Nautical Institute's President Meets With IMO Secretary General Dominguez

 

[By The Nautical Institute]

The President of The Nautical Institute, Captain Trevor Bailey, was welcomed to the Headquarters of the International Maritime Organisation by Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez.

Highlighting the human element of our industry, they discussed the importance of seafarer representation in the development and evolution of maritime technology and regulation. The Secretary General noted that many emerging technologies are being designed to aid or to supplement mariners, especially on shorter coastal voyages. However he also noted that replacement of mariners on many shorter coastal voyages is still many years away – the expertise of seafarers must be at the core of all such developments.  

In parallel, they also discussed that the opportunities of digitalisation of many aspects of the maritime environment should be seized upon to develop and refine required processes rather than simply to digitally replicate existing systems and bureaucracies.

The maritime decarbonisation agenda was discussed alongside the need to ensure financially viable availability of emerging ‘alternative fuels’, taking into consideration global trading patterns and also the security of shipping when emerging geopolitical events require the re-routing of trading vessels.

Returning to the human element, they discussed the importance of cadet training and mentoring, noting that the young seafarers of today are the core of the future of our industry.  In this regard, they discussed the work of The Nautical Institute in promoting cadet membership, female representation in our industry, and the mentoring of junior seafarers.

The Nautical Institute continues to advocate for its members at the IMO and will be represented at all IMO committees and sub-committees this semester.

During the meeting, The Nautical Institute’s President presented the Secretary General with a photo he had taken in November 2019 from ‘STAR BREEZE’ in Fincantieri Palermo shipyard.  He was the ‘Yard Captain’ for the project and later the Master of the completed ship when it left the shipyard in April 2022.