IMO rolls out a two-year “Policy to Practice” campaign to ensure safety, training and green rules are enforced worldwide.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has launched a two-year global campaign, “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence,” aimed at closing the gap between maritime regulations and their real-world implementation across ships and ports worldwide.
Aligned with the World Maritime Day theme for 2026–2027, the initiative calls on governments, port authorities and industry stakeholders to ensure IMO’s safety and environmental standards are applied “in every port and on every deck,” rather than remaining on paper.
Launching the campaign, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez described 2026 as a “year of implementation,” underscoring that regulations on safety, seafarer training and decarbonisation deliver impact only when fully embedded into daily operations, inspections and company management systems.
The campaign is built around nine priority pillars, including:
- Capacity building and technical cooperation
- Targeted support for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
- Regulatory readiness for maritime decarbonisation
- Tackling fraudulent ship registration
- Strengthening audit-driven improvements
- Enhancing ocean protection measures beyond emissions reduction
To drive measurable outcomes, the IMO Secretariat will implement a coordinated action plan featuring global and regional events, guidance and knowledge products, strategic partnerships, and digital outreach under hashtags such as #WorldMaritimeDay and #MaritimePolicytoPractice.
IMO has urged Member States and observer organisations to host their own activities throughout 2026–2027 and share results, as the organisation seeks tangible progress in seafarer training reforms, greenhouse gas reduction targets, and stronger enforcement of existing maritime conventions.
Source: Mirage news
