Levan Davitashvili at Celebration Dedicated to International Day of Seafarer in Batumi

First Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili congratulated Georgian sailors on their professional day – International Day of Seafarer at the special event held in Batumi and thanked them for their worthy and highly professional work. Levan Davitashvili together with the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze took part in the ceremonial event related to this day. In his speech, Davitashvili spoke about the strategic importance of the development of the industry for Georgia as a maritime country and the great role of Georgian sailors in this process. The Minister of Economy made the main emphasis on the work done by the government in the maritime sector and the ongoing reforms.

“Today we can confidently say that Georgia is a worthy member of the international maritime community, and our maritime sector is an important, even key part of the great transport-transit connecting Europe-Asia route. Our policy is aimed at developing maritime infrastructure as quickly as possible and in accordance with international standards,” – the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development said.

June 25 was announced as the International Seafarer’s Day by the decision of the Diplomatic Conference of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2010, and Georgia annually celebrates it together with the International Maritime Organization and other maritime countries. The 2024 campaign is dedicated to seafarers’ contribution to making the maritime sector a safer workplace (hashtag: #SafetyTipsAtSea).

The events dedicated to the Seafarer’s Day started from the Batumi State Maritime Academy – a procession of the students of the Academy took place through Rustaveli Street to the pier, and then the oath-taking ceremony of the cadets of the Maritime Academy was held. Tornike Rizhvadze, the head of the Adjara government, Aleksi Akhvlediani, the head of the Maritime Transport Agency, the Rector of the Maritime Academy, Murtaz Devadze and other representatives of the sector, former and active sailors, and the students took part in the ceremony. Representatives of the diplomatic corps and partner international organizations attended the event.

The First Vice Prime Minister emphasized several important aspects, including the development of marine infrastructure and high-tech services in accordance with international standards, and the importance of professional education of international standards in this process. As he mentioned, support for maritime education and professional training was and remains a priority direction of the government, and the Ministry is actively working in this regard.

“I think we are successfully tackling the task – a number of systemic reforms and innovative projects have been implemented to bring the education and certification system of seafarers in line with modern international standards. It should be noted that the already achieved results allowed us to move to a new stage of reforms, first of all, it concerns employment of seafarers, protection of their labour rights and creation of social guarantees,” – Levan Davitashvili noted.

The Minister emphasized that on July 1, the law “On Seafarers Labour” will enter into force, which will create a new reality for Georgian seafarers and employing companies. In addition, according to his information, the employment rate of sailors is increasing every year – Georgia has more than 18 000 active sailors who can be employed under 74 naval flags. According to Levan Davitashvili, these numbers confirm the role and contribution of Georgian sailors in the economy of Georgia.

“We are also actively working to improve maritime services and infrastructure, bringing them in line with international standards, including in the port sector. The country’s commitment to the International Maritime Organization was successfully fulfilled and Georgia launched the “National Maritime Single Window System” in pilot mode on January 1, 2024,” – Levan Davitashvili explained.

Another important topic on which the First Vice Prime Minister emphasized is the restoration and development of the Georgian fleet. According to the Minister, the Ministry is actively working in this direction.

“The program of the Ministry of Economy – “Enterprise Georgia” has a number of initiatives so that our professional, earnest sailors can not only be employed on the vessels of other countries, but also have the opportunity to perform their professional duties on ships sailing under the Georgian flag. We will continue to work in this regard and in the next few years we will be able to say with pride that the Georgian fleet has been restored,” –  the First Vice Prime Minister stated.

At the solemn event dedicated to the Day of the Sailor, the representatives of the maritime profession were awarded for their special contribution to the development of the field and their bravery at sea