Director of Policy & Advocacy Sophia Haywood joins the global maritime community in celebrating World Maritime Day 2026 and reflects on the importance of its theme – “From Policy to Practice” – to IMCA’s advocacy work.
Since 1978, every last Thursday in September has been celebrated as World Maritime Day. Organised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), this annual event recognises the vital contribution of the international maritime industry to global trade, the economy, and sustainable development.
This year’s World Maritime Day theme – ‘From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence’ – acknowledges the reality that regulations will only deliver safer, more resilient, and cleaner shipping when they are implemented worldwide. The theme highlights the importance of both international and national policy work and underscores the importance of IMCA’s advocacy programme.
IMCA is the voice of the offshore construction sector. Our membership reflects the diverse nature of our industry; developers, contractors, suppliers, and training providers in every global region – enabling us to provide an authoritative perspective on the issues facing our industry, and its role in delivering and maintaining critical offshore infrastructure.
We work with our Members to advocate for a safe and sustainable offshore sector, ensuring that our voice is heard in policy making processes at the IMO, the European Union, and within national governments. Through our Marine Policy and Regulatory Affairs Committee, IMCA convenes global policy experts to tackle some of the biggest issues facing our industry and create opportunities for the sector to share its learnings and experience with our partners and stakeholders.
Building upon this drive to share industry expertise, IMCA is the only association dedicated to representing offshore marine contracting interests at the IMO. We have held IMO observer status since 1999, providing expert input into IMO committee and sub-committee meetings. IMCA has provided strategic input on a range of critical topics affecting the industry during this time, for example by playing a key role in the development of the IMO 2023 Diving Code.
Looking ahead, IMCA’s advocacy work is an exciting stage of growth as we expand our team and strengthen our capabilities. Since joining IMCA earlier this year, I’m extremely proud to be spearheading this work, building upon our strong reputation and history. I look forward to engaging with IMCA Members across the world on key advocacy topics, particularly as we bring the offshore sector together at our upcoming Global Summit in Antwerp this October.
As a final reflection, it is through sharing learnings, expertise, and collaboration that the strongest and most effective policy and regulation can be developed. Many landmark regulations have been agreed this year, with some topics providing significantly more debate than others – and with some even bigger debates to come. This continues to highlight why advocacy is a critical pillar of IMCA’s mission and purpose, and why the theme of this year’s International Maritime Day is so relevant.
