On August 31, 2021 the 8th the International Forum on Seafarers’ Education, Training and Crewing (ETC) began its work, which commonly takes place in the passenger complex of the Odessa Sea Port and will last until September 2. During the opening ceremony, welcoming statements were made by Gennadiy Trukhanov, City Mayor of Odessa, Sergey Grinevetsky, Head of the Odessa Regional State Administration, Y.Y. Kruk, Head of the Odessa District State Administration, Deputy of the Odessa Regional Council, Andrey Boyko, Director of Anglo-Eastern and General Partner of the Forum, Mikhail Miyusov, Rector of National University «Odessa Maritime Academy», Chairman of the organizing committee of the forum, Alexander Syvak, Organizer of the exhibition” TRANS EXPO ODESSA “, General Director of “MediaCompass Ukraine” and others.

Traditionally, the forum is supported by the International Transport Workers‘ Federation (ITF), the International Maritime Employers‘ Council (IMEC), the International Association of Shipowners BIMCO, the International Association of InterManager, the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), The Nautical Institute, the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology of Great Britain (IMarEST), as well as the Ministry of Education of Ukraine and the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine.

The organizers of the forum are National University “Odessa Maritime Academy” and the exhibition center “Odessa House”.

The ETC-2021 Forum brings together an exhibition and a conference, which are attended by the representatives of leading international maritime organizations, shipping and crewing companies, maritime educational institutions, training centers for seafarers, banks and insurance companies, medical centers and other organizations related to the training and crewing of seafarers.

The general partner of the forum is Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, a leading, independent provider of ship management services to ship owners around the world. The general partner of the exhibition is Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for marineand energy markets.

The conference program includes reports and panel discussions on the problems of global shipping and its staffing, modern technologies in the maritime fleet, standards of maritime education, ensuring the effectiveness of education, practical training and employment of seafarers in the context of spreading of coronavirus infection COVID-19.

The motto of the Forum is “Partnership for Progress”. Only thanks to partnership, joint efforts of all interested parties, it is possible to solve the problem of the lack of qualified personnel in the global maritime labour market and ensure efficient and safe shipping.

The opportunity to demonstrate to the international maritime community the potential of maritime education and employment system of Ukrainian seafarers allows us to confirm the position of Ukraine as one of the leaders in staffing world shipping with highly qualified specialists. We expect new companies in the Ukrainian market and the opening of new cadet programmes.