Address to Kenyan maritime community

Speech by Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, Nairobi, 4 May 2006

High Commissioner, Assistant Minister, Permanent Secretary, Chairman of the Kenya Maritime Authority, Chairman of the Kenya Port Authority, Captain Odach, Lecturers at the IMO workshop and other distinguished members of the maritime community of Kenya, ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to be with you this evening and I am delighted that I have been afforded the opportunity to say a few words.

Kenya: a nation that, in its 42 years of existence, has grown in stature on the world scene and is today known throughout the globe for its rich culture and history, the variety of its agricultural and industrial products, the nobility of its people, the uniqueness of its wildlife parks and beautiful beaches … and its immensely talented sportsmen and women. These and many others are the legacies of a young, vibrant, growing nation as it faces the challenges of the 21st century, of a globalized economy and the digital age, of harnessing all its varied assets and talents for the benefit of today's and its future generations.

And as I look around me, I can see that same variety reflected in you, the representatives from just about the entire maritime spectrum of Kenya. As well as shipowners, we have shipping agents, members of the port authority, port users, ship surveyors, others from the insurance, banking and business communities and, of course, from the seafarers' community, too.

That is as it should be. For shipping and ports are the carrier and conduits of global commerce and Kenya remains a regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, with the port of Mombasa, ably managed by the Kenya Ports Authority, handling about 13 million tonnes of freight annually. Not only is it the principal seaport of Kenya, it also serves as the main gateway to the eastern African hinterland countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan.

At the same time, Kenya has made commendable efforts to embrace multi-party and multi-ethnic democracy and to become an active and respected member of the international community. Indeed, as a servant of the United Nations, this is a country in which I can feel on very familiar ground. The very tangible support Kenya has shown for the UN, in providing host-country facilities for the largest concentration of UN agencies located in Africa (including UNEP and HABITAT, both of which are headquartered here), as well as the United Nations Office in Nairobi (which has the same UN status as New York, Geneva and Vienna), is greatly valued by the entire UN system.

It gives me great personal satisfaction that Kenya's support for the United Nations extends also to the Organization I have the honour to represent, IMO. When I met your President, His Excellency Mr. Mwai Kibaki, earlier today, among other things I expressed, on behalf of the Organization, my great appreciation to the Kenyan Government for hosting the IMO Regional Presence office for the Eastern and Southern Africa sub-region in Nairobi. Through that office (aiming at facilitating IMO's input into national and regional development policies and providing active field-level participation in the development, execution and co-ordination of the delivery of IMO's Integrated Technical Co-operation Programme), a great deal has already been achieved in this region and I look forward to continuing, even strengthening, our co-operation to the benefit of all concerned.

One particularly notable example of this has been Kenya's generous offer, which has been formally accepted, to host a Diplomatic Conference in Nairobi during 2007 to adopt a new international Convention on Wreck Removal. This proposed new Convention will become an important building block in the edifice of international law, providing international rules on the rights and obligations of States and shipowners in dealing with shipwrecks and drifting or sunken cargo which may pose a hazard to navigation or pose a threat to the marine environment of coastal States, or both.

Further, tangible, evidence of Kenya's commitment to the international maritime community comes in the form of its hosting the new sub-regional Maritime Rescue Co ordination Centre at Mombasa. At the IMO Conference on SAR and the GMDSS held in Florence, Italy, in 2000, Kenya, along with Tanzania, Seychelles and Somalia, was designated to be one of the countries covered by the then proposed sub-regional search and rescue system for the African countries bordering the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Subsequent meetings between these countries have culminated in a Regional Multilateral Agreement on Co-ordination of Maritime Search and Rescue Services, signed in Zanzibar in May 2002. The parties to this Agreement decided that the sub-regional MRCC would be located here in Mombasa, and it will be my privilege to commission the Centre tomorrow.

The establishment of search and rescue facilities throughout Africa was seen as a key component in the implementation of the Global SAR Plan, which was agreed at the 1998 Conference in Fremantle, Australia. The Mombasa MRCC will provide a much-needed search and rescue capability along the long coastline of East Africa and will be welcomed by seafarers not just from Africa but from all nations whose vessels transit these waters. By helping to fill a massive gap in the effective SAR coverage, between the SAR centres in Oman to the north and South Africa to the south - both thousands of miles away - it will play a considerable part in helping to achieve the overall objective of improving the safety of life at sea, increasing the chances that those who find themselves in distress will be able to reach shore safely, and also strengthening the sub-region's measures on maritime security.

Of course, Kenya's maritime horizons extend not just towards the oceans but also in the other direction, towards the great Lake Victoria. This huge body of water has witnessed several tragic maritime accidents over the course of many years and I should like to take this opportunity to assure you of IMO's continued support to the improvement of the safety of navigation on that Lake. In March 1997, I came to Mwanza, Tanzania, in my then capacity as Director of IMO's Maritime Safety Division, to participate in the first workshop on the safety of navigation on Lake Victoria which resulted in the formulation of a project to put in place measures to ensure the safety of life and property on the Lake and the protection of its environment. This project has since been a long-term commitment, the most recent manifestation of which was the High-Level Meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, last October, jointly organized by IMO and the East African Community, which brought together Members of Parliament, senior Government officials (Ministers and permanent Secretaries responsible for transport) from the three partners States of EAC and relevant legal and technical experts. As ever, the delegation of Kenya played a full and constructive part in that meeting and helped to move this important issue closer towards a satisfactory resolution.

With such a clear interest in shipping, it is no surprise that Kenya and IMO have enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial releationship over many years. Indeed, Kenya joined IMO more than 30 years ago, and it is satisfying to note that it has been able to accept 22 key IMO Conventions, including SOLAS, the Load Lines Convention, the STCW Convention and MARPOL.

There is a new order in shipping today and we see it reflected, among other places, in the make-up of the IMO Council, which was expanded to 40 States in 2002. Kenya has taken its place as a member of the IMO Council, which clearly demonstrates the esteem in which Kenya is held by the other IMO Members and adds to the importance and significance attached to the country by the rest of the maritime community. It is undoubtedly an honour: but with the honour also comes responsibility, which means that the maritime world and, particularly, your fellow African nations, expect many things from Kenya.

In this context, I am confident that the establishment of the Kenya Maritime Authority in March 2004 will provide the means through which Kenya can fully live up to her elevated status. The appointment of H.E. Mr. Joseph Muchemi (Kenya's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom), who is here with us this evening, as Kenya's Permanent Representative to IMO, demonstrates the importance that Kenya attaches to the work of the Organization and I am sure you will all give him the support he needs to fulfil his dutiful role.

The signing by the Kenyan Government of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Tanzania to train Kenyan seafarers at the Dar es Salaam Maritime Institute augurs very well in fulfilling the country's maritime aspirations and will, certainly, facilitate the conditions for Kenya to qualify for the "White List" of countries deemed to be properly fulfilling their obligations under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.

As I mentioned a few moments ago, Kenya's role on the international and particularly on the regional stage is widely recognized. Most recently, Kenya, with other neighbouring countries, played a key role in the formation of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, which is now fully recognized by the international community.

As you know, the situation in Somalia has been impinging on the maritime world, in the shape of a sudden escalation of violent attacks on merchant shipping in the area, including Kenyan vessels. Some of you here may have been victims of these attacks, either directly or indirectly. Through Secretary-General Kofi Annan, I brought, at the end of last year, this situation to the attention of the UN Security Council, which subsequently adopted a resolution inviting Member States to take various measures to protect shipping in the area. The UN Security Council's Monitoring Group on Somalia has recommended that IMO, together with neighbouring States, examine the possibility of creating a caretaker marine authority for Somalia and developing a practical coastline-monitoring programme for the country. I am sure we will be able to count on Kenya's support as these initiatives begin to take shape.

In February of this year, the Kenyan Government convened a regional meeting on piracy, here in Mombasa, which was attended by the Honourable Minister of Transport. As a follow up to that meeting, it was agreed to hold a sub-regional conference on piracy and maritime security, also in Mombasa, to consider aspects of coastal security and countering piracy and armed robbery against ships. We stand ready to implement that decision.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to bring to your attention a number of initiatives that I hope will see the bonds between IMO and Africa made even stronger. Last year, the IMO Assembly adopted a resolution on technical co-operation as a means to support the United Nations Millennium Declaration and Development Goals. This resolution places the emphasis for the Organization's technical co-operation activities on meeting the special assistance needs of Africa. The Assembly also approved the establishment of a correspondence group to identify the linkage between the Millennium Development Goals and the IMO's Integrated Technical Co-operation Programme and report to our Technical Co-operation Committee this coming June. Moreover, the IMO Council has agreed that the theme for this year's World Maritime Day should be "Technical Co-operation: IMO's response to the 2005 World Summit" and, in our efforts to highlight the substance of this theme, we shall be focusing global attention on the maritime-related needs of Africa and the support that IMO and the international community can provide to the continent to strengthen further its existing capacities for safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean oceans. I am confident that Kenya will play a positive and constructive role in the process.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a most enjoyable evening and I thank you.

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