As Secretariat of APHoMSA, Australia has a central role in facilitating the forum.
This year’s APHoMSA welcomed the attendance of Mr Koji Sekimizu, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), who presented the keynote address, focusing on domestic passenger ship safety and loss of migrants at sea. Participants also endorsed offers for Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Tuvulu to become official members, bringing APHoMSA’s total membership to 23. In total, 15 Member States and territories were represented, as were 4 standing observer organisations: IMO [1]; ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre [2]; International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities [3] (IALA); and the Secretariat of the Tokyo MoU [4].
The forum built on improved governance reforms made over the past few years. Support was also provided for a number of matters of significance for Australia, including: