Efthimios Mitropoulos took the helm of one of the world’s most important shipping bodies at the start of this year after his appointment as the new head of the influential International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency which promotes maritime safety and adopts maritime legislation. His election to the post of secretary-general was confirmed at the IMO’s 23rd regular session on November 27, 2003 after the organisation’s assembly agreed unanimously to accept the recommendation of the council to appoint the former Greek seafarer.

Mitropoulos was elected by the IMO’s 40-member council in June for a four-year term; he took up his new office on the retirement of Canada's William O'Neil at the end of 2003.

A former Hellenic Coast Guard officer and official in the Greek Maritime Administration, Mitropoulos is well qualified for the job. He has been a staff member at the IMO since 1979 and has served under both O’Neill and his predecessor, Dr CP Srivastava of India . “To build on the legacy of these two great men, under both of whom I have had the good fortune to serve, and take their achievements forward will be the challenge of my life,” he said.

In a wide-ranging acceptance speech to the assembly, Mitropoulos spoke of the challenges that lie ahead for the IMO. “While our prime duty will be to act proactively to ensure that accidents do not happen in the first place,” he said, “our work should also be directed towards ensuring that, once an accident has taken place, the system is there to minimise its impact on human lives, property and the environment.”

Mitropoulos also emphasised the need for change within the IMO itself, referring to the “winds of change” blowing through the maritime world in general and through the organization in particular.

Depth of experience
Mitropoulos, aged 64, has been involved with the maritime industry since 1957. Following a career in the Greek merchant navy, he gained experience as a maritime economist, lecturer and author, harbour master and marine technologist. Between 1965 and 1979 he was a member and then head of the Greek delegation to the IMO.

He joined the IMO secretariat in 1979, and in 1985 was appointed head of the navigation section. In 1989, he became senior deputy director for navigation and related matters, and in 1992, was appointed director of the maritime safety division. In 2000, he was designated assistant secretary-general.

Mitropoulos has already witnessed significant change within the IMO and the wider shipping world. He spoke of his pride in today's shipping industry and of its global importance today. “I will miss no opportunity to express the pride I feel for the industry we all serve and also to emphasise the major contribution shipping makes to world trade.”

However, there was plenty of unfinished business as 2004 began, with the coming into force of the ISPS ( International Ship and Port Facility Safety ) Code in mid-year and the continuing work on the safety of large passenger vessels, bulkers and the solutions urgently needed for the issue of refuge places.

The ISPS Code is one of the most challenging regulatory changes ever introduced, involving so many ships and ports, with different interested parties and the ambitious objective of enhancing security without harming world trade.

Setting new goals
The new secretary general, who has a reputation for conjuring consensus out of the most unpromising raw material, gives a high priority to the implementation of existing conventions and protocols before new regulations are developed. He also intends to build more bridges between industry and the United Nations to reduce the belief that the IMO is remote from practical shipping.

The development of “goal-based” new ship construction standards and the move towards formal safety assessment are important developments in the life of the IMO. It is also significant, and positive, that there is a closer and more harmonious relationship developing between the IMO, the world of classification and industry.

Mitropoulos is a firm believer in bringing industry, which has perhaps felt rather distant from the workings of the UN agency, closer into the loop and less remote from the world of international regulation.

The former tanker officer and Rear Admiral in the Hellenic Coastguard also believes that the IMO can be influential in helping to enhance the image of the shipping industry, which, he says, has been taken for granted for too long with too much focus on negative matters and marine accidents when the industry has much of which it could be proud.

As someone who has spent his entire career in shipping, Mitropoulos believes that the IMO can make a bigger contribution in promoting the message that shipping is essential, efficient, clean and safe.