World Maritime University believes education is the key to championing the common standards that bind the diverse maritime industry.
“Standards and conventions don’t operate by themselves. People have to implement them,” Maximo Q Mejia, president of the WMU, said in an interview with TradeWinds.
The university was founded in Malmo, Sweden, in 1983 by the International Maritime Organization.
It offers postgraduate programmes in maritime and ocean-related studies to develop industry capacity in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Mejia, who is a graduate of the university, joined the university faculty in 1998 and became president in 2023.
He said that, while the implementation of regulations in maritime had improved, there was still much to be done.
“The implementation of standards is more consistent today. But it is far from where we need to be. There is a lot of work to be done. We have moved in the right direction in support of our mother organisation [the] IMO.”
However, economic, environmental and technological issues increase the demand for maritime professionals, especially in developing countries.
“The maritime industry continues to expand with trade. Especially now, when there is a major thrust within decarbonisation and digitalisation. There is even more need now.
Technology outpacing regulation
“Technology is moving faster than regulation. To implement and apply new technology efficiently requires continued capacity development.”
Mejia also sees a need for more practical maritime expertise in developed countries.
“There are challenges facing the developed world. Fewer and fewer people go to sea. The base for this expertise is people with seafaring experience.
“We need this bridge between these different worlds. So that we all speak the same language of safety, security and environmental protection and sustainability.
Diminishing seafaring expertise
“In the developed world, where you find the ownership of shipping, there is a diminishing base of practical technical expertise in seafaring.
“There is, therefore, a need to bridge this gap. We would like to see more involvement in our programmes from a broader range of developed states, both within maritime administration and the industry. It goes back to this idea of a common language to facilitate global implementation of standards.”
The maritime sector must raise public awareness about the shipping industry to increase recruitment, according to Mejia.
“We are an invisible industry. The average person doesn’t realise that almost everything is transported by sea. We must work harder to make the maritime industry more visible in the minds of young people.
“The maritime industry isn’t only about going to sea. It is a lot about technology, environment and sustainability.”
WMU has about 130 master’s students in Malmo, 80 students across its two campuses in China, about 40 PhD students, and about 90 distance-learning students each year.
The school aims to increase the number of students, if funding permits.
Most students are funded by fellowship donors.
More can also be done to attract more women to the industry, Mejia said.
“Company policies, shipboard facilities and attitudes and culture must be designed so women feel welcome in seafaring careers. There is still a lot that could be done in that regard.”
Key maritime challenge
One of the most pressing issues in the maritime space is decarbonisation.
The IMO calls for international shipping to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“It has to be a global effort. Everybody must work with it. It is very central to the work we do. We try to promote a uniform view that this is important for everyone.”
In the past five years, the university has introduced an additional focus on oceans.
The WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute was inaugurated in 2018.
The institute does research and offers training, with a particular focus on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, which addresses life below water, one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals established in 2015.
“It is all about access to resources. Small island states and the least developed countries need more support.”
“Sustainability, safety and efficiency are not isolated in one region. Everything is global.”
