IMO have announced that this year's World Maritime Day celebrations will take place at IMO Headquarters on Thursday, 25 September 2025 with a parallel event expected to be celebrated in the UAE.

This year's World Maritime Day theme is: "Our Ocean - Our Obligation - Our Opportunity"

IMO's work to protect the ocean

Over many decades, IMO has developed and adopted mandatory rules, recommendations and guidelines to protect the marine environment from any potential negative impact of shipping. These include binding treaties applied on ships globally. The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), first adopted in 1973, covers pollution from oil, dangerous chemicals, packaged goods, sewage and garbage, and harmful emissions from ships.

Other marine environment related treaties cover: the dumping of wastes at sea (London Convention and Protocol); managing ships' ballast water to prevent the spread of potentially invasive aquatic species (Ballast Water Management Convention); control of anti-fouling systems; and ;preparedness and response for spills of oil or chemicals.

These international regulations are supported by technical assistance programmes and projects that support Member States to tackle specific challenges such as marine plastic litter, greenhouse gas emissions from ships, and the spread of invasive aquatic species through ballast water and biofouling.

IMO's work in these areas directly support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly:

• SDG 14 on life below water;
• SDG 13 on climate action;
• SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure; and
• SDG 17 on partnerships.

Read more

• IMO's work to protect the ocean
• Marine environment
• IMO and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
• UN World Oceans Day 2025 (8 June 2025)
• UN 2025 Ocean Conference (9 -13 June 2025)

However, the link also provides access to downloadable digital cards for the theme's promotion.

#WorldMaritimeDay

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