World Maritime Day Parallel Event
The World Maritime Day Parallel Event was celebrated for the first time in Lisbon, Portugal in 2005, and is hosted in a different country each year.
The event promotes the World Maritime Day theme and provides a platform to highlight IMO's work and bring together important actors and stakeholders in the maritime community to discuss revelant matters.
The 2026 Parallel Event is expected to be celebrated in Busan, Republic of Korea, on 26 and 27 October 2026, and will focus on the theme ''From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence''.
Previous events
2025 - United Arab EmiratesOur Ocean – Our Obligation – Our Opportunity Dubai (United Arab Emirates) – 30 September -1 October Click here to learn more | |
2024 - SpainNavigating the Future: Safety First! Barcelona (Spain) – 20-22 October Click here to learn more | 2022 - South AfricaNew Technologies for Greener Shipping Durban (South Africa) – 12-14 October Click here to learn more |
2019 - Colombia Empowering Women in the Maritime Community Cartagena (Colombia) – 15-17 September Click here to learn more | 2018 - PolandIMO 70: Our Heritage - Better Shipping for a Better Future Szczecin (Poland) – 13-15 June Click here to learn more |
2017 - PanamaConnecting Ships, Ports and People Panama City (Panama) – 1-3 October Click here to learn more | 2016 - TurkeyShipping: Indispensable to the World Istanbul (Turkey) – 4-6 November Click here to learn more |
2015 - JapanMaritime Education and Training Tokyo & Yokohama (Japan) – 20 & 21 July Click here to learn more | 2014 - MoroccoIMO conventions: effective implementation Tangier (Morocco) – 27-29 October Click here to learn more |
2013 - PeruSustainable Development: IMO's contribution beyond Rio+20 Lima (Peru) – 2 & 3 October Click here to learn more | 2012 - BahrainIMO: 100 years after the Titanic Manama (Bahrain) – 17 & 18 October Click here to learn more |
2011 - ItalyPiracy: orchestrating the response Rome (Italy) – 13 & 14 October Click here to learn more | 2010 - Argentina2010: Year of the Seafarer Buenos Aires (Argentina) – 7 & 8 October Click here to learn more |
2009 - USAClimate change: A challenge for IMO too! New York City (USA) – 16 & 17 October Click here to learn more | 2008 - GreeceIMO: 60 years in the service of shipping Athens & Galaxidi (Greece) – 19-21 September Click here to learn more |
2007 - BrazilIMO's response to current environmental challenges Salvador (Brazil) – 14 & 15 September Click here to learn more | 2006 - SingaporeTechnical co-operation: IMO's response to the 2005 World Summit Singapore (Singapore) – 25 September Click here to learn more |
2005 - PortugalInternational shipping – Carrier of world trade Lisbon (Portugal) – 15 & 16 November Click here to learn more |