The attachment is signed by a group of leading port authorities from around the world and forwarded by Singapore with a request for circulation.

20 PAR members from Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America came together on 24 April 2020 in Singapore to declare their commitment to ensuring their ports remain open amidst the current pandemic. The Declaration, initiated by Singapore, calls for port authorities to collaborate and share best practices in ensuring that port operations can remain undisrupted.

In this connection, the Secretary-General wishes to emphasize again that it is crucially important that the flow of commerce by sea should not be unnecessarily disrupted.

 

At the same time, the safety of life at sea and protection of the marine environment must also remain

paramount. One of the goals of IMO, as stated in its Convention, is to ensure availability of shipping services to the commerce of the world, for the benefit of humanity, and the Secretary-General wishes to urge all IMO Member States to bear this in mind when framing

their policy decisions with regard to the coronavirus.

 

Defeating the virus must be the first

priority, but global trade, in a safe, secure and environmentally friendly manner, must be able to continue too.