EU Ambassador on World Maritime Day:
'Georgian maritime sector moving closer to Europe'
A baby-boy wears maritime uniform on the Seafarer's Day celebrations in Batumi. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The Georgian Black Sea town of Batumi, which is home to the country's State Maritime Academy, is celebrating World Maritime Day today.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell marked the day and noted the European Union and Georgia have been working step-by-step to ensure that the Black Sea becomes a bridge 'that unites us and brings us closer together'.
Watch Hartzell's full speech here:
Happy #WorldMaritimeDay Sakartvelo!
— Carl Hartzell (@CarlHartzellEU) September 24, 2020
????????+???????? are working together on maritime agenda. Black Sea should become a bridge to unite and bringing us closer together.
Special thanks ???? to the maritime workers keeping crucial supplies flowing in testing COVID times.https://t.co/wLlIqVMIMV pic.twitter.com/qzaNC6sYgc
Hartzell praised EU-Georgia cooperation in the maritime sphere and announced that on the occasion of the World Maritime Day, the EU is launching an information campaign highlighting the significant progress that Georgia has made so far, as well as the future prospects. These include:
- International standard maritime education opportunities in Georgia and the quality jobs they lead to
- Economic opportunities from adopting EU standards and a first ever State Maritime Transport Strategy
- Continual work to ensure environmental protection of the Black Sea
Together we have worked to modernise capacities, we have raised environmental and safety standards, and we have made sure that seafaring is becoming an increasingly attractive trade for new people to join in a sustainable manner. This is so important for Georgia’s economy and Georgia’s vision of becoming a transport and connectivity hub in the wider region. Already today there are more than 12,000 Georgian seafarers, who contribute some five hundred million lari to the Georgian state budget every year. Last year alone we saw a 40 per cent increase of container traffic going through Georgian ports, which shows the potential for further growth", Hartzell said.
According to 2019 data, Georgia ranked 13th in terms of the supply of officers on EU ships. Photo: EU Delegation to Georgia.
Hartzell also announced that the EU and Georgia are working on the first ever Georgian Maritime Strategy.
Our work has already made it possible for Georgian seafarers’ education and their certificates to be recognised by no less than 20 European states. This makes it possible for Georgian seafarers to work on board or even captain European vessels" Hartzell said.
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava is also in Batumi to join the celebration.
She said that during the pandemic the world once again saw the importance of shipping and the people working in this field to create a sustainable future for humanity.
The contribution of each seafarer to the country's economy is enormous: according to the most conservative estimates, about 500 million GEL is brought into the country's economy annually, and in this respect they form an important basis for the sustainability of the Georgian economy", Turnava said.
She also said that according to 2019 data, Georgia ranked 13th in terms of the supply of officers on EU ships and in recent years 'we have had a 40 per cent increase in the employment of Georgian sailors on ships sailing under the flags of European countries' compared to 2015.