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IMO stresses merchant vessels' duty to assist people in distress after refugee rescue story
Summary
Dominguez said master and crew have mandatory obligations to assist people in distress at sea and described limits merchant ships face when carrying large numbers of migrants, noting IMO recognizes seafarer bravery annually.
When the host recounted a Mediterranean refugee rescue story, Arsenio Dominguez said merchant ship masters and crews are required under mandatory IMO regulations to provide assistance to people in distress at sea.
"Masters and seafarers, they they are trained for this. And in in our mandatory regulations, actually, they have an obligation to support and provide assistance to peoples in distress at sea," Dominguez said. He noted merchant vessels may be limited in their ability to house hundreds of people rescued at sea and that IMO works with coastal states and search‑and‑rescue authorities to coordinate responses.
Dominguez also described an annual recognition program in which IMO receives more than 50 nominations of seafarers going beyond duties to save lives, some posthumously, and said supporting seafarers' post‑incident mental health and reintegration is part of the organization's social‑partners work.
