October 2021 - Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Administration

Eric R Dawicki – International Propeller Club International Maritime Person of the Year 2021

October 25, 2021

Eric Roger Dawicki selected as the International Propeller Club’s 2021 International Maritime Person of the Year.

Northeast Maritime Institute’s President, Eric Roger Dawicki, was awarded the prestigious International Maritime Person of the Year award for 2021 during the International Propeller Club of the United States’ 95th Annual Convention, on 14 October. This prestigious award honors an individual for his or her contributions to the maritime industry at large.

The International Propeller Club of the United States was established in 1922 as a platform for maritime professionals to network and discuss issues of the industry. After nearly a century, more than 80 ports – or individual member clubs – have been established, including almost 30 internationally, making the International Propeller Club one of the most important maritime trade associations in the world.

Today, The International Propeller Club of the United States is a grassroots, non-profit organization that promotes the maritime industry through its ports and through partnerships with similar organizations. Its goal is to educate legislators and the public about the essential role that maritime commerce plays in the world.

Mr. Dawicki has served as the CEO and President of Northeast Maritime Institute (NMI), located in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, since 1995. NMI has provided training to professional mariners worldwide, both in-person and online, since 1995. Northeast Maritime Institute’s College of Maritime Science is the first and only private maritime college in the United States, fast-tracking its graduates into the maritime industry with great success.

Mr. Dawicki also serves as the President and CEO of the Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Registry, which is an open international ship registry that provides comprehensive services for vessel owners, operators and seafarers globally.

Mr. Dawicki was a prominent maritime leader following the attacks of 9/11, serving a full term as a member of the United States Maritime Security Advisory Committee under both the Bush and Obama Administrations, and is now a Coast Guard Reserve Veteran and a Lifetime Trustee of The Coast Guard Foundation.

Mr. Dawicki has played a role in the international maritime industry since 1996, where he has participated in numerous U.S. delegations to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and has served on multiple committee and subcommittee meetings. Mr. Dawicki has also served as a member of the Board of Governors and as Executive Governor of the IMO’s World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden. Mr. Dawicki was also a Chairman of the World Maritime University’s (WMU) thirty-year sustainability plan.

To read the Maritime Executive’s article about the International Propeller Club’s 2021 International Award Winners: CLICK HERE.

To learn more about the history of the International Propeller Club of the United States: CLICK HERE.

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Updates on the IMO’s 104th Maritime Safety Committee Meeting

October 6, 2021

IMO Resolution with actions to address to the crew change crisis. Raise seafarers above their current struggle and allow for timely and necessary relief from their services at sea.

Yesterday, an IMO draft Assembly resolution “Comprehensive action to address seafarers’ challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic” was discussed during the Maritime Safety Committee. This draft Assembly resolution contains solutions that pertain to ensuring maritime safety, security and environmental protection by reducing the negative impact on seafarersʹ physical health welfare and well-being.

Approximately 2 million seafarers operate commercial vessels around the world to facilitate global maritime trade and commerce. Mariners and Seafarers are facing the risk of extreme fatigue, physical and mental health crises – the number one cause of maritime casualties that include collisions, allisions and groundings. Restrictions and delays of crew changes and repatriation, including the measures implemented by countries, brought serious operational consequences, causing this humanitarian crisis at sea.

The Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Administration took the initiative in a proposal that all IMO Member States agree to a five-part commitment to seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to facilitate crew changes and repatriation. During the 103rd session of the Maritime Safety Committee in May 2021, the Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Administration presented a document in this regard.

This document encouraged IMO Member States and NGO’s to commit and implement actions that address the crew change crisis:

Designating seafarers as ʺkey workersʺ;
Recognizing international documentation as evidence of this status;
Ensuring safe ship crew changes and travel;
Creation of quarantine facilities; and
Provision of access to medical care, including access to vaccines

These points were taken forward as a collaborative effort and an Assembly resolution was drafted, and the IMO Secretariat submitted this draft Assembly resolution to MSC104, for submission to Assembly 32 with a view of adoption in December 2021.

Tangible action is of absolute necessity to address the crew change crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and is paramount to maritime safety, security and environmental protection. The implementation of these actions will raise seafarers above their current struggle and allow for timely and necessary relief from their service at sea.

In order to achieve a harmonized approach, Dominica reached out to all of the non-Governmental international Organizations that have been granted consultative status with IMO, asking for their support. OCIMF, IFSMA, IOGP, INTERTANKO, InterManager, IOI, ICMA, IBIA and IIMA took this opportunity to honor the people they represent, and to demonstrate their support for mariners and seafarersʹ health and welfare today and into the future.

In a joint statement, the co-sponsors of this supporting document took a collaborative effort to underline and highlight the need for the urgent objectives set out in the draft Assembly resolution.

The Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Administration feels very positive about this resolution going forward. The actions for mariners and seafarers affirm that our industry respects and acknowledges their important role in global trade and commerce on the high seas.

#honorthemariner

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Dominica Maritime Administration Attends the UNCTAD15 Conference

October 5, 2021

The delegation of the Dominica Maritime Administration is honored to attend the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD’s) 15th conference – UNCTAD15, hosted online by Barbados from 3 to 7 October, 2021. We are proud to represent the Commonwealth of Dominica, a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) and are looking forward to participating in important conversations that will be started.

We believe that there must be equal opportunities for all involved in the maritime industry. Our values fit the theme of this year’s UNCTAD15 conference, which is, “From inequality and vulnerability to prosperity for all.” Discussions will be focused on how access to trade works for all can reduce inequality and vulnerability.

The Dominica Maritime Administration’s international maritime registry prides itself on providing sustainable, cost-effective, safe and secure compliance tools to ensure the safety of the global maritime shipping, yachting and seafaring community.

UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental body established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964. As a part of the United Nations Secretariat, which deals with trade, investment, and development issues, UNCTAD’s purpose is to promote the interests of developing states in world trade.

During the conference’s Opening Plenary and Ceremony, United Nations Secretary-General Mr. António Guterres spoke about the need for global efforts to recover from the impacts of COVID-19. “We need a bold, sustainable and inclusive global recovery that benefits the many, rather than the few.” Guterres stated that if we come together on a global level, it is possible for all – not just some – to recover from the damage that COVID-19 has caused.

Guterres spoke about how COVID-19 has prevented trade from contributing to economic growth. He called upon the need for open and fair trade rules, so that all countries have a fair chance at competition and growth, no matter their level of development.

Guterres also called upon the need for modern infrastructure and trade flows, specifically in the shipping industry, “which transport 80% of global merchandise. Automation and digital solutions can reduce bottlenecks and help this vital industry decarbonize.”

Overall, Guterres’s remarks pointed out the global need for fair and equal trade opportunities through modern infrastructure and open and fair trade rules, to thus promote a global blue economy.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are those most impacted by global climate change. The world must come together and commit to the creation of a sustainable blue economy to ensure that SIDS have equal opportunities to participate in the global economy.

Some of the topics to be discussed at UNCTAD15 include, “Inequality: Is the COVID-19 crisis really a game-changer?,” “Reshaping global and regional value chains,” “Regional integration for a resilient, inclusive and sustainable future”, “Harnessing frontier technologies for shared prosperity” and more.

To watch Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterres’s speech at the UNCTAD15 Conference Opening, see here:

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