124 FEATURE Building a safer future at sea CFR considers the latest maritime safety initiatives from IMO and highlights four more organisations from our periodic table of safety and security elements Safety at sea has always depended on robust regulation, skilled crews and proven equipment and technology. The new 2026-2027 World Maritime Day campaign from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), ‘From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence’, emphasises the need for the global regulatory approach developed by the IMO to not just be adopted ‘in principle’, but to drive concrete action and real-world results. IMO secretarygeneral Arsenio Dominguez said: “When we talk about ‘practice’, we are talking about people. The seafarers on the ship; the people in the port; those managing ship operations, ship recycling workers, port state control officers and flag state administrators. To make the maritime industry truly sustainable, we must ensure these high standards are felt in every port and on every deck – not selectively, not unevenly, but globally. IMO is committed to powering this transition through technical cooperation and direct support.” IMO audits have revealed gaps in enforcement among United Nations member states, which it says increase the risk of unsafe shipping. The new campaign focuses on nine pillars, covering areas such as capacity development, innovation, decarbonisation, cybersecurity and ocean protection. The Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO held its 111th meeting in May 2026, in London. Highlights from the meeting included continued work on the safety regulatory framework for ships using new technologies and alternative fuels. The committee approved new guidelines for the safety of ships using hydrogen and ammonia as fuel, and training guidelines for seafarers on ships using alternative fuels. With the world’s first hydrogen cruise ship, Viking Libra, built by Fincantieri, floated out in March 2026, and several hydrogen-powered ferries already in operation, these guidelines will become more important to the passenger shipping sector as the adoption of alternative fuels progresses. The committee also adopted a new non-mandatory International Code IMO secretary general Arsenio Dominguez has emphasised the need for regulation to not just be adopted ‘in principle’, but to drive concrete action and real-world results
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