Mr Andreas Chrysostomoy visited Argentina to promote candidacy

Andreas Chrysostomou, from Cyprus, one of the so far four candidates vying to become Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) this year, visited Argentina this month, one of the 40 countries he is touring to garner support for his candidacy, and he outlined his proposals for the bid.

Speaking at the Argentine Navys Nautical School, the naval engineer said that, if chosen in Julys elections, he will work for the London-based IMO to continue being the central and only global regulator for the shipping sector. We dont need unilateral or regional action. We need one global organization to regulate what is probably the most globalized industry in the world.

Addressing the audience in English, he added: There is no need to drastically change. We will maintain the good things the IMO has been doing so far. It has produced the right goods at the right time for the right industry. The Secretary-General will continue to run human resources in the same way.

Secondly, he said he would secure more technical co-operation around the world and fair, on-time distribution.

My pledge is to continue the good work the IMO has been doing and to introduce innovations to take technical cooperation to the next level. Projects must be publicized.

We need to generate the necessary cash. Making friends is easy. We all know the industry. We all know what doors to knock on. But we also need the ambition and the energy to carry out the task. The Secretary Generals job is not just to run the show but to mobilize those involved in the production of goods. This is a transition from modern to post-modern technology, from classical knowledge to post-modern requirements, and this cannot be done without technology transfer. You cannot do that that unless you a have a liaison officer. Through my entire career I have been liaising between governments, industry and NGOs.

Chrysostomou said that a third, paramount pillar of his plan is to secure human life at sea.

Existing political differences between governments should not be in detriment the safety of life at sea. He promised to liaise between all stakeholders to deliver something that is acceptable to everybody, despite political differences.

To attain this is possible by concentrating on the IMOs core work that is to produce technical regulations, he said, adding that every solution is possible if political differences are respected.

But there is one element we need to add here: listen to the industry. If governments think a regulation should be implemented, we need the industry to able to deliver that. If the industry cannot do that, we have to go back to negotiations. He added: We need to invest in the next generation so that young people dont just go into the shipping profession but become part of the shipping profession.

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Source: Buenos Aires Herald