OTTAWA, TODAY: Mr. Stéphane Ouellette, President and Chief Executive Officer, Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP), joined members of the international shipping community in celebrating World Maritime Day, a United Nations observance led by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The World Maritime Day 2025 theme is: Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity. This theme underscores both the responsibility and opportunity humanity holds in protecting the ocean as a shared resource, while recognizing the vital contributions of the maritime industry.

To mark the occasion, several initiatives will take place worldwide, including the lighting up of landmarks in blue to promote this year’s theme. The IMO Headquarters in London will participate, and IMO has invited Member States, intergovernmental organizations, and NGOs in consultative status to join in lighting up landmarks within their respective nations—including Ottawa.

Our world depends on the sea. Ninety percent of global trade—including food, fuel, raw materials, and manufactured goods—is carried by sea, delivered to every corner of the globe through a vast maritime network. This lifeline of international commerce is made possible by more than 100,000 commercial vessels, interconnected across 2,800 ports in 150 countries, and kept moving by over 1.5 million seafarers. These men and women operate, maintain, and repair the ships that sustain our way of life—while facing rough seas, piracy, war zones, and the personal sacrifices of long separations from family.

World Maritime Day was established by the IMO to raise awareness of the indispensable role shipping plays in international trade, security, and prosperity, while also emphasizing the importance of safety, innovation, and environmental stewardship on the world’s oceans.

The MNCTP reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that seafarers—past, present, and future—are honoured alongside veterans and military personnel, recognizing their essential contributions to global stability and human progress.