Tag: Koji Sekimizu

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Marshall Islands calls IMO head a danger to planet earth

 The Marshall Islands foreign minister, Tony de Brum, has released via email his assessment on IMO's climate position calling IMO Secretary General a ''danger'' to theplanet.Mr Koji Sekimizu has stated that IMO is the only place where the debate over shipping and climate change calling to global leaders at COP21, which will be held in Paris on 7-8 December 2015, not to intervene. “In the process leading up to the Paris meeting, world leaders might be tempted to consider specific measures aimed at reducing shipping’s overall contribution of CO2 emissions, such as an overall cap. Such measures would artificially limit the ability of shipping to meet the demand created by the world economy, or would unbalance the level playing field that the shipping industry needs for efficient operation, and therefore must be avoided,”  Mr Sekimizu has said in his official statement.RMI’s Foreign Affairs Minister Tony de Brum expressed his concerns over IMO's head opinion in a statement as follows:''His call is not just a danger to the planet, but as the research points out, also to the shipping industry’s future prosperity, and therefore the future stability of world trade,” RMI’s Foreign Affairs Minister Tony de Brum said in a statement.“GHG pollution is a difficult issue for ...

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IMO place for global debate on shipping and climate change

 As world leaders prepare for key negotiations on climate change in Bonn and Paris later this year, IMO Secretary General Koji Sekimizu has issued a strong call for any discussion on shipping’s contribution to global CO2 emissions to be held at IMO.In a statement issued during a conference in Singapore, Sekimizu reiterated his view that IMO is the only place where the debate over shipping and climate change should be taken forward, given the huge impact the industry has on the global economy and its unique international structure.Mr Sekimizu stated:It is important to stress that IMO is, to date, the only international organization to have adopted global legislation to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from a particular industry. Nothing similar exists for any other industry or business sector. IMO has consistently and successfully, over time, explored new possibilities to improve upon existing technical, operational and management measures to reduce vessel-source air pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions. IMO continues to contribute to the global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the context of the climate change debate.In the process leading up to the Paris meeting, world leaders might be tempted to consider specific measures aimed at reducing shipping’s overall contribution of ...

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Lives lost at sea halved and piracy eradicated should be targets

Says IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu Speaking at the opening of the IMO's first meeting of the year, the Sub-Committee on Fire Protection, IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu told delegates that it was his vision that halving lives lost at sea and eradicating pirate attacks, as well as ensuring the release of all hostages can, and should, be legitimate targets, for the Organization and for shipping in the years to come.Mr Sekimizu said that the number of lives lost annually at sea has been over 1,000 for each of the past five years. Despite the difficulty in obtaining precise and reliable data for such losses, he said that approximate figures for 2012 included approximately 100 lives lost in the fishing sector, 400 in domestic operations, and around 500 in other categories, including international shipping*.An ambitious, but achievable target, he said, would be to aim for a 50 per cent reduction, to no more than 500 lives lost annually, by 2015. He said that the matter could be addressed at the IMO Symposium on Future Ship Safety in June, and went on to identify a number of mechanisms that could help the target to be reached, specifically:implementation of the Torremolinos Protocol through the ...

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Titanic remembered by IMO Secretary-General

Secretary-General Mr. Koji Sekimizu recalls the improvements to passenger ship safety IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu has issued a video message ahead of the anniversary on Saturday (14 April) of the sinking of the Titanic, remembering all those who lost their lives in the tragic accident, recalling the improvements to passenger ship safety introduced as a result of that incident and acknowledging the need for continual improvement and enhancement of safety at sea.The text of the message is reproduced below."One hundred years ago today, 14th of April, Titanic struck an iceberg, while on her maiden voyage between Europe and the United States. Within a few hours, more than 1,500 people had perished in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic, transforming what was then the world's most celebrated ship into a name forever associated with disaster."The Titanic disaster prompted the major shipping nations of the world, at that time, to take decisive action to address maritime safety. It led to the adoption of the first international convention on safety of life at sea, SOLAS, in 1914."International Maritime Organization can trace its own roots back to the Titanic disaster. In its aftermath, the requirement for an international standard-setting body to oversee maritime ...

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