14/10/2011
Rome hosted World Maritime Day Parallel Event
The Palazzo Colonna in Rome was the venue for the 2011 IMO World Maritime Day Parallel Event, on 13 and 14 October 2011, focusing on this year’s World Maritime Day theme – “Piracy: orchestrating the response”.
On 13 October, a seminar was organized, with sessions devoted to “Anti-Piracy Measures and Best Practices” and “International Co-operation against Piracy”.
Among those addressing the meeting were Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, IMO Secretary-General; Mr. Koji Sekimizu, Director, Maritime Safety Division, IMO; Vice Minister Roberto Castelli, Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Italy; Undersecretary Alfredo Mantica, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy; Admiral Bruno Branciforte, Chief of the Italian Navy; Vice Admiral Marco Brusco, Commandant of the Italian Coast Guard; and representatives from other organizations, including, inter alia, the United Nations World Food Program and the Apostleship of the Sea.
In his closing remarks, Secretary-General Mitropoulos thanked the Government of Italy and the Italian Shipowners’ Confederation for successfully hosting the 2011 edition of the World Maritime Day Parallel Event, and for organizing such an insightful and stimulating programme of events, adding that, as this seminar had confirmed, much more needs to be done if the ultimate goal of consigning piracy to the realms of history is to be achieved.
On 14 October, various activities took place around the Civitavecchia harbor, including a live link to the Italian destroyer Andrea Doria, which is taking part in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Operation “Ocean Shield”, NATO’s contribution to international efforts to combat piracy off the Horn of Africa. A second live link allowed participants to connect with the Italian Coast Guard Operational Centre, where piracy alerts are received.
IMO Secretary-General Mitropoulos said:
“The successful conclusion of this year’s World Maritime Day Parallel Event has once again highlighted the need for all forces to come together to combat the scourge of modern-day piracy. In the past two days both policy and practical issues have been addressed that continually need to be developed in order for seafarers to once again be able to carry out their duties at sea without the risk of being attacked by pirates.”
Parallel Event website: http://www.guardiacostiera.it/wmdpe2011/index.cfm
