The Seminar aims to inform Member States, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with IMO about the societal value of maritime pilots and pilotage as a public service.
The IMO Secretary-General has recognised maritime pilots as having always been vital to ensuring the safety of navigation in key ports and shipping lanes globally and playing a crucial role in sustaining the global supply chain using specialized knowledge and expertise. Maritime pilots are engaged in over four million acts of pilotage annually.
The Seminar will recognise that emerging technologies, supply chain efficiency and environmental sustainability are driving change in the shipping industry. This will be an opportunity to understand the role maritime pilots and the high levels of risk mitigation offered by appropriately regulated pilotage in the context of the safety of seafarers and the public, and Sustainable Development Goals 13 (Climate action) and 14 (Life below the water).
In conjunction with local and national authorities and maritime stakeholders, maritime pilots are having to respond to mitigate the impacts of changing environmental conditions in order to maintain levels of safety and service. Moreover, it is recognised that pilotage as a public service will need to adapt to be environmentally sustainable. The Seminar provides an opportunity to understand pilotage in the context of climate mitigation and adaptation.
The Seminar will provide:
1. insights into how maritime pilots work today, using specialized knowledge, expertise and technology to minimise safety and environmental risk for the benefit of society;
2. insights into the social value of duly regulated pilotage as a public service, using a case study; and
3. a perspective on sustaining and enhancing the social value of pilotage as the shipping industry and the expectations of society evolve.