HE Paul Rolle’s Opening Statement at the 133rd Session of the IMO Council

Thank you Chair, Secretary-General, Excellencies, Distinguish Delegates present and online, NGO’s and IGO’s, Observers, Greetings.

Chair, as we begin the 133 rd. Session of the IMO Council, The Bahamas express its solidarity with all Member States suffering from the deadly and devastating effect of extreme weather events including floods, drought, typhoons, hurricanes and forest fires.

We extend our profound sympathies over the loss of lives, Infrastructure, property and crops to all such nations and regions, the latest of which is in the Valencia and Malaga Regions of Spain, Honduras and the Philippines.

Chair, The Bahamas sadly acknowledge all lives lost at sea since last we met as a Council including those in the Red Sea Corridor and beyond and the numerous deaths from illegal and unregulated crossings.

Chair, The Bahamas wish to go on record as we thank the Secretary-General, for his continuous outreach and update on the situation in the Red Sea Corridor including his most recent Visit to Five countries in the area inclusive of Djibouti, Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen “to express support for freedom of navigation as well as concern for innocent seafarers particular those 25 Crew-members who remain captive from The Bahamas Flagged Ship M/V Galaxy Leader.”

We thank him for highlighting the plight of families of the crew by meeting with a representative group here at IMO Headquarters.

This is being done along with and his active and ongoing engagement with the UN Security Council, its relevant agencies, and all other parties involved  to try and eliminate attacks on International Shipping and restore Safety and Security to this vital shipping region.

Chair, this is important not only because of the high percentage of the world goods and equipment that passes through this region, but because of the urgent need for the IMO to achieve its Green House Gas 2023 Reduction Targets and thus, assist in the mitigation of Global Climate Change.

Chair, again we wish to draw attention to the unfortunate negative financial impact that re-routing is having and will continue to have on the supply chain generally and on consumers in particular.

Chair the 19^{th of} November will mark the one-year anniversary of the capture of the crew of the Galaxy Leader.

One year of missed birthdays, wedding anniversaries, birth of children, of nephews, nieces’, cousins, missed graduations, funerals and other special occasions and most of all the loss of personal freedom.

What we are getting instead is an increase in attacks on International Shipping by non-state actors.

Now according to recent reports some ship operators are being pressured into paying millions in foreign currencies to avoid attacks on their ships, thus achieving some savings by avoiding the longer and more expensive route around Southern Africa.

Unfortunately, this will only result in the Houthis and others being able to purchase more arms and ammunition thus prolonging the attacks.   

In the first of its Kind MSC Resolution to be adopted by IMO Member States on this issue since the Houthis seized the MV Galaxy Leader and its crew of 25 in November 2023, the Resolution stated that the Houthis’ reckless actions are putting innocent lives at risk, disrupting the delivery of needed humanitarian aid to those who need it most, increasing the cost of this humanitarian assistance, and destabilizing the region,”.

The Committee called for peaceful dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis. It urged all parties that may have influence in this area to seek a peaceful cessation of attacks on International Shipping and we thank all involved.

The Bahamas in keeping with UN Resolution 2722 (2024) call for the immediate release of the crew of the Bahamas flagged Galaxy Leader, so they may be reunited with their families.