World Maritime Day was observed this year on 29 September 2022, and the yearly IMO World Maritime Day Parallel Event (WMDPE) will be held in Durban, South Africa, between October 12 and October 14 at the ICC.

The installation of a memorial sculpture in Durban that represents the entirety of the marine globe will be one of the main attractions of the Parallel Event in Durban. The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) General Secretary, Mr. Kitack Lim, will unveil the sculpture at a location within the port precincts that will be announced.

Twin sisters Letlhogonolo and Tlhologelo Sesana of Sesana Sesana Studio, two young female architects from Pretoria, created the sculpture under the name “Ukuhlangana,” which means collectiveness.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this event was postponed between 2020 and 2021.

This conference will feature several high-level panel discussions focused on the IMO’s 2022 topic, “New Technologies for Greener Shipping.”

The WMDPE will establish itself as a key platform for the worldwide community to make significant contributions and advancements in cooperation as one of the most significant maritime events on a global scale. This is focused on creative responses to mitigation measures to lessen the carbon footprint of maritime transportation.

The aforementioned theme and other significant concerns will also be covered in a separate high-level roundtable discussion at the ministerial level, whose discussions could serve as a springboard for new approaches and concepts among the global maritime community.