Page 33: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2024)

ARSENIO DOMÍNGUEZ, SECRETARY-GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION (IMO) speak in the same way to the general pub- lic. You can’t use acronyms or formulas

Meet Arsenio Domínguez or regulations. That’s not attractive. But if you highlight how [shipping] impacts their

Domínguez assumes his role as tenth IMO Secretary-General, daily life, you start making connections. bringing with him more than three decades of experience

We need to learn; I need to learn how we serving the global maritime sector, across a spectrum of evolve in communicating. We always talk leadership roles of increasing scope and responsibility.

about cooperation and communication.

Initially representing his native Panama, ? rst within

For me it’s how do communicate and co- the Panama Maritime Authority and in his lattermost operate effectively? So it’s about being appointment as Ambassador of Panama to IMO, his af? nity more proactive, out there and understand- for building consensus saw him elected by his peers as ing that as good as we are – and we are

Chair of several ? agship IMO intergovernmental meetings, good in shipping, just look how we keep including: the Marine Environment Protection Committee trade ? owing – we can always be better. (MEPC), the Technical Committee of the 29th Assembly, and the Maritime Security, Piracy and Armed Robbery Group, as

If you could offer one bit of advice well as a number of Vice-Chair and Board member roles.

to shipowners regarding making A naval architect at heart and by training, Mr. Dominguez gained his ? rst degree at Veracruzana University, Mexico, and their operations more ef? cient, later went on to pursue a Master of Business Administration more effective, what would it be?

(MBA) at the University of Hull, as well as an executive

Be an early mover; take the ? rst step and quali? cation in International Law and European Politics at be ready to change. We can’t continue to

Birkbeck University, both in the UK.

operate the same way that we’ve been oper-

His initial term as IMO Secretary-General, approved at the ating for centuries. We can use that experi- 33rd Assembly in December 2023, will be for a period of four ence, but we need to move to the next step. years from 2024 to 2027.

What do you hope to achieve dur- ing your tenure?

I want to leave an organization that is progressive, that is in touch with modern- ization, that is inclusive, that is transpar- ent. But not just by statement. If I can- not achieve it within my tenure, than at least the tools, the mechanisms and the processes are there. [It’s about raising the stature of IMO and the stature of the mari- time industry], and for me it’s about learn- ing from others. I want an IMO that is more engaged with all the sectors, with all the UN agencies. For example, on decar- bonization we need the energy sector; so we are including the energy sector in our technical capacity cooperation as well as in the conversations. They learn from us, we learn from them, we need each other.

When I say [I want IMO to be more] forward-looking, it is about being more transparent, more diverse, more inclusive, and being ready for change, [and last but not least] it’s about attracting the younger generation.

• This recorded interview was edited for brevity and clarity www.marinelink.com 33

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