IMO secretary-general at REMPEC

Efthimios Mitropoulos, the new secretary-general of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), on May 15 visited the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC).

The IMO secretary-general, who was visiting Malta to attend the 15th annual graduation ceremony of the Malta-based IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), took the opportunity to visit REMPEC and meet the director, Rear Admiral Roberto Patruno, and staff of the centre.

During a short meeting with the staff, Mr Mitropoulos highlighted the important role of REMPEC in the Mediterranean and stated that IMO considered the centre as part of the "IMO family" and an effective tool for the protection of the marine environment in the region.

Rear Admiral Patruno thanked the IMO secretary-general for his visit and assured him of REMPEC's full support to IMO's efforts to fulfil its objective of "Safer Seas and Cleaner Oceans".

REMPEC, established in 1976 within the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), assists Mediterranean coastal states in the implementation of the Prevention and Emergency Protocol to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution.

The Intergovernmental UN Regional Centre, which operates from premises on Manoel Island made available by the Government of Malta, is administered by IMO, and is financed by the Mediterranean Trust Fund.