World Maritime Day 2025: Our ocean, our obligation, our opportunity

By Nikolai Vassiliev, Chief, Terrestrial Services Department, ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R)

The world’s oceans are a vital source of food, energy and biodiversity. They play a central role in regulating the planet’s climate. However, they are under increasing pressure from pollution, overexploitation, habitat degradation and climate change.

Every day, those vast expanses are traversed by a wide variety of vessels, from cargo ships and fishing boats to pleasure craft and passenger ferries. Modern communication technologies are essential for the safe, secure and efficient operation of all vessels at sea, which is fundamental to protecting the fragile marine environment.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has been continually improving maritime radiocommunication systems since the early 1900s.

Today, as the United Nations agency for digital technologies, ITU still meets the ever-evolving needs of the maritime community. Whenever governments, the shipping industry, engineers or mariners identify a new technical or operational requirement, ITU is there to address it with global expertise and cooperation.

As a forum for creating harmonized standards, ITU helps introduce new and emerging technologies that benefit everyone. This also means countries and companies can harness ocean opportunities in a sustainable manner.

Furthermore, cooperation through ITU and its sister UN agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), is crucial to improve safety at sea and safeguard marine environments.

Spectrum coordination at sea

ITU facilitates lifesaving and eco-conscious maritime operations through radio spectrum management and global technology standards.

Maritime operations worldwide rely on ITU’s Maritime Manual, List IV (coast stations) and List V (ship stations), alongside the Maritime Mobile Access and Retrieval System (MARS), which makes available information on over 900,000 vessels and more than 2,000 coast stations.

These tools are indispensable for timely search and rescue responses, as well as for pollution incident reporting under MARPOL, the cornerstone convention maintained by IMO to prevent marine environment pollution from ships.

Just as importantly, the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) developed by ITU and IMO enables ships in distress to promptly alert rescuers, saving human lives and reducing environmental harm.

Improved situational awareness reduces risks of collisions, groundings and oil spills, which can be disastrous for the marine environment.

Maritime traffic management

Today, ships rely upon real-time navigational data, such as traffic reports, weather forecasts and sea condition updates. Access to live digital information enhances vessel routing and planning, directly improving fuel efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing the risk of waste discharge from ships.

Modern radiocommunication technologies and navigation aids, combined with coast stations and other shore-based facilities, let maritime operators track ships and control vessel traffic smoothly. This is especially important in busy channels and ports or in any environmentally sensitive area.

With maritime traffic growing globally, the integration of advanced communication technologies becomes ever more important.

Data for ocean monitoring comes from satellites and terrestrial communication systems spanning the globe. Earth-observation satellites and myriad radio technologies also help monitor fishing vessels, ensuring responsible practices that safeguard fish stocks and marine biodiversity.

ITU safeguards those services and their vital data streams by assigning and protecting spectrum and orbital resources worldwide.

Cooperation to protect our oceans

The multi-faceted threat to oceans demands coordinated global action, mobilizing international cooperation and digital innovation to address maritime environmental challenges.

On 25 September, IMO and the global maritime community marks the annual World Maritime Day. This year’s theme, “Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity,” highlights how the world’s oceans sustain life, enable trade, and shape our climate. The day underscores the shared responsibility of nations and ocean users to harness that potential sustainably.

As custodian of the world’s radio spectrum, ITU stands at the confluence of technology, policy, and environmental stewardship. By enabling maritime communications, coordinating spectrum management, and promoting innovative environmental monitoring tools, ITU’s work supports the safe, sustainable, and smart use of our planet’s blue frontier.

Header image credit: Adobe Stock