NEW YORK -UN- G. Garantzioti/ ANA-MPA [File photo: GANP/ Dimitrios Panagos]
Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis stressed the need to strengthen the security of international shipping and protect seafarers, speaking in New York at the Ministerial Meeting launching the Group of Friends for the Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers.
Gerapetritis noted that the initiative was being launched at a particularly critical juncture, as threats to maritime security had multiplied. He said that attacks against international shipping had put human lives at risk, challenged freedom of navigation, disrupted global supply chains and affected food and energy security.
He highlighted that seafarers are increasingly vulnerable to piracy, armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, and other significant threats, emphasising that safeguarding shipping must be aligned with ensuring the protection of seafarers.
He stressed that Greece’s position was clear: freedom of navigation should be safeguarded, while the security of shipping and seafarers should be ensured in accordance with international law and, in particular, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Gerapetritis also highlighted the central role of the International Maritime Organization and the importance of its cooperation with the International Labour Organization, particularly in addressing the abandonment of seafarers and ensuring their fair treatment.
Summarising the key messages of the Greek side, Foreign Minister Gerapetritis stressed that seafarers should be able to work in safe seas, that freedom of navigation through straits used for international navigation was a fundamental principle of international law and a basis for the unimpeded conduct of global trade, and that the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, should, particularly in times of crisis, be implemented with even greater consistency.
In closing, he referred to the old maritime saying that without seafarers, half the world would freeze and the other half would starve, assuring that Greece was ready to work closely with all members of the Group of Friends to turn their shared commitments into effective action.
