Media Release

World Maritime Day: new security focus

Ship safety and security had taken on a new dimension in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the International Maritime Organization’s Secretary General William O’Neil said today.

In an address to mark World Maritime Day, Mr O’Neil said the terrorist strikes had reminded the maritime community that shipping safety needed to include measures to prevent terrorism.

"Safety and security have always been linked and today a safety culture must expand to include the need for a heightened awareness of the threats from terrorists that face us all," Mr O’Neil said in his World Maritime Day address.

"It is therefore necessary to prepare thoroughly, so that in the future we can avoid these terrible occurrences which are not just accidents but deliberate acts of violence that were previously impossible to contemplate."

The theme for World Maritime Day 2002 is Safer Shipping Demands a Safety Culture.

Mr O’Neil said the theme had been chosen to reflect the importance and advantages of creating a genuine safety culture in people involved in the shipping industry.

"The one area to which most accidents have been attributed – namely the human factor – while not being totally neglected in the past, was in need of greater attention," he said.

Mr O’Neil said safety and productivity should not be seen as opposing or mutually exclusive objectives.

Further information:

For Mr O’Neil’s four-page address contact

David Gray 0418 487 794 or

Ben Mitchell 0418 164 901

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