Monovia, Liberia – Eugene Lenn Nagbe, Commissioner of the Liberia Maritime Authority (LiMA), is campaigning tenaciously to ensure that Liberia is voted to Category A of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) at the upcoming election for the organization’s regulator of the shipping sector in December 2023.
At a working lunch on April 26, 2023, Commissioner Nagbe informed representatives of member states that Liberia, as a significant player in the global maritime industry, is looking for the support of eligible IMO member states to elect the second-largest open ship registry to category A given the significant contribution the nation continues to make to the viability of the IMO, the institution reports.
“Today, we are pleased to verbally present our quest to seek a seat on Council to you, and to ask for your support. I can state with no uncertainty that for over six decades, Liberia has played a major and important role within the global maritime transport arena: being the world’s second largest Open Registry, and the second largest contributor to IMO’s Annual budget”.
According to Commissioner Nagbe, Liberia has actively participated in and contributed to the work of the IMO’s secretariat and through a number of committees for many years, including the drafting and sponsorship of significant regulations.
LiMA Commissioner and CEO reminded his audience that Liberia has made significant contributions by acting as a bastion in the fight against piracy and other maritime crimes to ensure free and unhindered international maritime trade, given its position as a significant port state and coastal state in the Gulf of Guinea.
He pleaded with the delegates present that Liberia was humbly asking for their nations’ support, and noted that Liberia will keep interacting with every IMO member state this year as elections approach and provided the case for why Liberia deserves to be given a seat on Council in Category A.
According to Articles 16 and 17 of the IMO Convention, the Assembly will elect 40 Members of the Council at its thirty-third session (27 November–6 December 2023). The election is anticipated to take place on Friday, December 1, 2023.
Source: Liberia Maritime Authority
Photo credit: Liberia Maritime Authority
