World Maritime Day: Solid policies must power sector

Kenya must turn its blue economy ambitions into action to unlock jobs, investment and maritime growth. [AFP]

On Thursday, September 24, countries will mark World Maritime Day at a time when international shipping remains the conveyor belt of global commerce, carrying more than 80 per cent of world trade to markets and communities across continents.

For Kenya, this should be more than another international observance. Every container discharged at the Mombasa Port, every vessel repaired in a local yard, every Kenyan seafarer earning a living at sea and every tonne of cargo moving to our landlocked neighbours tells us that maritime affairs are not peripheral to the economy.

They sit at the heart of trade, industrialisation, jobs and regional competitiveness. Shipping has endured as the most efficient and cost-effective means of moving most internationally traded goods because it can carry enormous volumes reliably and at comparatively low cost. It connects producers to consumers, ports to hinterlands and economies to opportunity.

A safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible shipping industry is therefore not simply a maritime concern. It is part of the foundation on which sustainable economic growth rests.

That makes this year’s World Maritime Day theme particularly relevant to Kenya: “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence.” For the first time, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has adopted a World Maritime Day theme for two years, covering 2026 and 2027.

The emphasis is deliberate. Good rules, policies and conventions matter, but their value is ultimately measured by what happens on ships, in ports, in training institutions, in shipyards and across the wider maritime economy.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez captures the challenge plainly in his message for the occasion: the real test and responsibility lie in implementation. His call is to move beyond the conference room and translate collective decisions into results that people can feel. That is a useful lens through which Kenya should examine its own maritime journey.

Our policy direction is not short of ambition. The blue economy is recognised under the economic pillar of Kenya Vision 2030, with maritime transport, shipbuilding, fisheries, aquaculture, tourism and other ocean-based activities offering avenues for wealth and employment creation.

Vision 2030 has also envisaged improved shipping and maritime facilities, greater port capacity and Kenya’s transformation into a maritime hub.

The Kenya Maritime Authority’s current strategic framework similarly speaks to sustainable use of maritime opportunities, trade and investment, education and training, job creation, seafarers’ welfare, safety, security and environmental protection.

There has also been work on a National Maritime Transport Policy and on sector policies touching maritime education and training, investment and security.

These are important building blocks. But the World Maritime Day invites us to ask a harder question: are our maritime policies actually powering maritime excellence?

That question becomes even more urgent as Kenya begins to think beyond Vision 2030. The next chapter cannot merely restate the promise of the blue economy. It must demonstrate how policy becomes productive capacity. Are we building and maintaining the infrastructure required by a maritime trading nation? Are Kenyan seafarers receiving internationally competitive training and adequate pathways to sea time and employment?

Are our ports, regulators, shipyards, training institutions, investors and research bodies working as parts of one maritime ecosystem? Are we creating conditions in which private capital can confidently invest in shipping and maritime services?

The mandate of the Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Ministry includes formulation of shipping and maritime policies and legislation, while the broader national ambition is to secure greater socio-economic value from our aquatic resources.

The spirit of that ambition must now be visible in implementation: stronger institutions, predictable regulation, skilled people, safe operations, environmental stewardship, modern infrastructure and commercially competitive maritime enterprises.

This requires coordination.

Maritime excellence cannot be delivered by one ministry, authority, port, training institution or company acting alone. National and county governments, regulators, the private sector, universities, technical institutions, financiers and coastal and lakeside communities all have a place.

Policies must also be accompanied by measurable targets, budgets, accountability and regular assessment of whether they are producing jobs, attracting investment, reducing the cost of trade and retaining more maritime value within Kenya.

We already have capabilities on which to build.

A recent Maritime Business Review analysis highlighted Kenya’s emerging ship repair proposition at Mombasa, including a modern slipway able to handle vessels of roughly 4,000 tonnes and 150 metres, specialised workshops and a growing commercial track record.

Its central argument is significant: vessels operating in East Africa and the western Indian Ocean should not routinely have to sail to distant yards for work that can increasingly be undertaken closer to home.

Developing such capability has consequences far beyond a shipyard gate. It can retain foreign exchange, create skilled technical jobs, support local supply chains, shorten vessel downtime and strengthen Kenya’s standing as a regional maritime services hub.

It is precisely the kind of practical economic outcome that turns blue economy policy from aspiration into industry.

World Maritime Day should therefore leave Kenya with a clear assignment. We have articulated the ambition. We have built institutions and enacted maritime laws and regulations.

We have invested in ports, training and emerging industrial capability. The next test is disciplined execution at scale.

As the world celebrates the ships, seafarers, ports and systems that carry global commerce, Kenya should use the moment to look inward. Our maritime potential is considerable, but potential does not create prosperity by itself. Policy must reach the deck, the dock, the classroom, the workshop and the marketplace. If we want maritime excellence to power the economy beyond Vision 2030, this is the time to make implementation our national maritime habit.

 - The writer is the Business Development Manager at Kenya Shipyards Ltd