58
March

http://www.wmujapan.net

2017

WMU Graduation Ceremony 2016

On Saturday, October 29, maritime leaders andexperts of tomorrow from over 50 countries graduated from the World Maritime University in theClass of 2016. WMU has equipped these graduates
to contribute to safe, environmentally sound, energy
efficient and secure shipping on clean oceans. They
will now return to their home countries to utilize
the education and training they have received at
WMU and contribute to the effective implementation of the goals and objectives of IMO as well theUnited Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr. Kitack Lim, the first International Maritime
Organization (IMO) Secretary-General and WMU
Chancellor to hold a MSc degree from WMU,
conferred degrees on two PhD candidates, 114
graduates from the Malmö MSc programme - 35
of whom were women - several students from theMSc programmes in Shanghai and Dalian, China,
as well as a number of postgraduate diploma
students who completed their studies by distancelearning. In total, 238 students graduated from theClass of 2016. This brings the total number of
WMU graduates to 4,359 from 166 countries.
WMU President, Dr. Cleopatra DoumbiaHenry welcomed the guests, including Mr. Efthymios Mitropoulos, Former Secretary-General of
IMO and Chancellor Emeritus of WMU. The
President thanked the City of Malmö and the Government of Sweden for their continued generosity
and support in hosting the University, as well as themany donors for their ongoing commitment to the
expansion of WMU and its mission. In addressing
the graduates, the President stated, “You have lived
and studied among the most uniquely international
student body that any university can boast of - themini United Nations - making you well qualified
to lead the international effort required by ourcapacity-building mission. You are the innovatorsof change. Think forward and remember that
despite the negativity that we hear or see, this is thebest time in history to be alive and to be able to
make a contribution to your community, to yourcountry, to our industry, and to the world.” Sheencouraged the graduates to take advantage of thepowerful global network of WMU Alumni and toremember WMU as a resource for future collaboration, where the best and brightest from theirhome countries should be sent to study.
The Guest of Honour at the graduation, Mr.
Reinhard Klingen, Director-General, Waterways
and Shipping of the Federal Ministry of Transportand Digital Infrastructure, Germany, congratulated
the graduates. He stressed Germany’s interest inpermanent and positive partnerships with thehome countries of WMU students and promised
continued support in funding WMU fellowships.
As a sign of Germany’s strong commitment to
WMU’s mission, Mr. Klingen announced thatnext year, Germany will contribute one million
euros to the WMU Endowment Fund to help
ensure the future financial sustainability of WMU.
In the graduation address, Chancellor Lim
recalled his own graduation from the World Maritime University and the sense of responsibility it
imparted. “I am inspired to witness a new generation of maritime and ocean leaders who possess a
deep understanding of the impact shipping has on
every facet of our global economy and society… I
am reassured that investing in maritime and ocean
higher education is the pathway to establishing a

new generation of future leaders with the skills andin-depth knowledge to contribute to the successful
implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.” Further, the Chancellor remarked on
the role WMU plays as a cornerstone of support
for IMO’s mission. He urged IMO member States
and the shipping industry stakeholders to follow
the lead of Germany’s Federal Ministry of TransPhoto:IMO
port and Digital Infrastructure and to engage with
the University and support the Endowment Fundto secure the future of WMU.
Before the conferring of degrees on the graduates, Mr. Lim conferred the degree of Doctor of
Science in Maritime Affairs, honoris causa, on Mr.
Koji Sekimizu, former IMO Secretary-Generaland Chancellor Emeritus of WMU. During his
tenure as IMO Secretary-General, Mr. Sekimizu
demonstrated great dedication to the University
and commissioned a Study on the Financial
Sustainability of the University that led to theestablishment of the WMU Endowment Fund.
Additional honorary awards included Honorary
Fellow to Ms. Marjorie Murtagh Cooke for her
achievements in raising the standards of safety inthe maritime world and for two decades of sharing
her expertise with students at WMU as a visiting
professor. Honorary Fellow was also awarded to
Mr. Karsten Brünings in recognition of his service
to WMU since 1983 as a visiting professor, in thespecialized area of cargo safety on board ships andin ports. Professor Patrick Alderton was awarded
Professor Emeritus in recognition of service to
WMU as the first professor of Ports and Shipping
Administration (later Port Management) from1989 until his retirement in 1994 and his subse-

quent substantial publication record.
Mr. Anas Saleh Mohammad Alamoush(Sasakawa Fellow), President of the Student
Council, also addressed the gathering. He notedthat the Class of 2016, from very different backgrounds, quickly looked past their differences andlived together as one family, sharing knowledge
and experience that increased understanding
among them.
During the ceremony, the annual student
awards were announced. The Chancellor's Medal
for Academic Excellence for the MSc in Maritime
Affairs 2016 in Malmö was awarded to Mr. Fuad
Mardiyv from Azerbaijan; for the Dalian MSc
Programme to Mr. Ziyang Zhong from China;
and for the Shanghai MSc Programme to Mr.
Liyang Zhou from China. The Pierre Léonard
Prize for the Best Female Student was awarded to
Ms. Mame Diarra Faye from Senegal. Mr.

Minjung Lee from the Republic of Korea received
the Lloyd´s Maritime Academy Dissertation Prize,
and the Lloyd’s Maritime Academy Distance
Learning Prize was awarded to Mr. Arne Lippens
from Belgium. The C P Srivastava Award forInternational Fellowship was awarded to Mr.
Djoro Hyacinthe Gnepa from Côte d'Ivoire.

procedures and sanctions against seafarers afterlarge-scale ship-source oil pollution accidents.
The dissertation starts with the clear definitionand comprehensive explanation of the standard offair criminal procedures and sanctions against
seafarers. The offered standard is: relevant humanrights.
It continues with the analysis of whether or not
those rules of UNCLOS and MARPOL which
can be linked to criminal procedures and sanctions
applicable against seafarers after large-scale shipsource oil pollution accidents are clear and comply
with human rights. As a result, several deficient
rules of UNCLOS and MARPOL are identified
and corresponding recommendations on how tointerpret these rules are given. Many of theserecommendations are innovative because, whenaddressing the issue of unfair application of criminal procedures and sanctions against seafarers
after large-scale ship-source oil pollution accidents, the international maritime community, sofar, has predominantly focused on criticisingparticular EU and national laws and practices,
instead of looking critically at the relevant rules of
UNCLOS and MARPOL as well.
After analysing the relevant legal norms of
UNCLOS and MARPOL, the dissertation turns
to the long-standing discussion on the qualities of
EU Directive 2005/35 on ship-source pollution,
particularly to the controversy of whether the
Directive conflicts with the MARPOL exceptions
from liability, or not. The dissertation, inter alia,
makes an original conclusion that the root causeof the controversy is the failure of the drafters of

MARPOL to agree on the issue as to when, if
ever, State Parties to MARPOL may adopt more
stringent standards than MARPOL.
Some insight into relevant national laws andpractices is provided by the dissertation, throughthe case study of four large-scale ship-source oil
pollution accidents: the Erika, Prestige, Tasman
Spirit and Hebei Spirit accidents. The case study
shows that after all four accidents, seafarers were
exposed to unfair criminal procedures and sanctions.
After this unfortunate finding, the dissertation
analyses whether IMO/ILO Guidelines on Fair
Treatment of Seafarers are capable of bringing
considerable positive change in practice. A conclusion is reached that the Guidelines, per se, arenot capable of bringing such change; however,some rules of the Guidelines are a good basis forfurther, more substantial development.
The dissertation ends with the revisiting of all
research questions and providing user-friendly
lists of main recommendations related to thesequestions. At the very end, a couple of overall
conclusions and recommendations, which, attimes, reach even further than only large-scale
ship-source oil pollution offences, are given. One
such recommendation is to develop three new
IMO instruments: one binding (the International Convention for the Unification of Certain
Rules Relating to Penal Liability in the Maritime
Domain) and two non-binding (the Sanctioning
Guidelines for Offences in the Maritime
Domain and the Guidelines on Penal Proceedings Which Involve Seafarers).

Maia Brindley Nilsson

Communication Officer, WMU

The PhD Journey
Anete Logina (Latvia, 2009)

In 2009 I graduated from the MSc Programme at WMU, yet soon after this great
achievement I decided to aim even higher.
Where there is a will, there is a way! In 2012 I
won the competition for the INTERTANKO
Fellowship for PhD studies at WMU and, thus,
a new, exciting journey could start.
Th e t i t l e o f m y P h D d i s s e r t a t i o n w a s
ultimately as follows: “Criminal procedures andsanctions against seafarers after large-scale shipsource oil pollution accidents: a human rights
perspective”. Development of the dissertation onsuch a challenging topic, in which different fieldsof law (penal law, law of the sea, and humanrights law) meet, was excellent experience. I went
through a wide range of emotions during thisprocess – excitement, disappointment, anger,
happiness – everything was there, and this“everything” was very valuable. I believe that, as aresult, I have become stronger, wiser, more
knowledgeable and skilled than I was before.
Of course, the journey is more important thanthe destination. Nevertheless, reaching the end
was heart-warming as well. I successfully
defended my PhD dissertation on the 10th ofOctober last year and, consequently, joined the
Graduation Class of 2016 on the 29th of thatmonth.
The full text of my PhD dissertation is available online:
http://commons.wmu.se/all_dissertations/508/
An abstract is given below.
ABSTRACTThe international maritime community ishighly concerned about the unfair application of
criminal procedures and sanctions against
seafarers, particularly after large-scale ship-source
oil pollution accidents, because such unfairness
may cause severe negative consequences forindividual seafarers and the shipping sector inbroader terms. A lot of work has already been
done towards the elimination of this respective
unfairness. Yet, unfair practice continues. Thisdissertation attempts to give new ideas as to how
to facilitate the fair application of criminal

2

Congratulations and Good Luck
Awards Ceremony for WMU Sasakawa Fellows

Lyndell Lundahl
Assistant Registrar, WMU
Th e w e e k b e f o r e G r a d u a t i o n i s b u s y .
Last-minute grades are recorded. Family andfriends of students who are graduating start arriving
and walk through the WMU building with wideeyes. The parties start! And with the building of
excitement, twin tensions also emerge: the end ofsome things and the beginning of many others.
One event that reflects both of these is the
A w a r d s C e r e m o n y h e l d b y Th e N i p p o nFoundation for its sponsored students, marking
the end of their studies and the beginning of their
new role as Sasakawa Fellows. This year’s
Ceremony was held on Friday, October 28, 2016
at WMU – in the Sasakawa Auditorium! –followed by a reception in the World Bistro,
beautifully transformed for the occasion fromstudent cafeteria into an elegant reception area.
In the Class of 2016 there were 21 graduating
Nippon Foundation-funded students. They camefrom Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, Egypt,Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Peru,
the Philippines, Sudan, Thailand and Vietnam; thelist reflecting the breadth of philanthropy practiced
by this remarkable Foundation. Mr. Mitsuyuki
Unno, Executive Director of The Nippon
Foundation, gave the main address to the students,
noting that graduation from WMU was just one
stop on the journey each maritime professional was
making. What the Foundation now hoped for was
to see each new Sasakawa Fellow becominginternationally-renowned and an active participanton the global stage, leading in fields related to theocean. He hoped that the new Fellows, sensitive tochanges in the world, would move beyond
existing research towards the challenge ofapplying themselves to emerging sciences andpolicies. Perhaps the world’s perception of theocean could be made more positive?
Mr. Unno then delighted the new Fellows –and the audience – by congratulating each student
in their home language. A remarkable feat!
University President, Dr. Cleopatra
Doumbia-Henry also gave a memorable address,
and Mr. Eisuke Kudo, Advisor to the Sasakawa
Peace Foundation, was as ever warmly hospitablein his welcome remarks. We were also honouredthat former IMO Secretary-General and WMU
Chancellor Mr. Koji Sekimizu attended theevent. Mr. Sekimizu was to receive an honorary
doctorate from the University at the Graduation
Ceremony the following day.
With certificates given to the new Fellows andall speeches made, the distinguished guests,
Fellows, their families, friends and WMU staff
then proceeded to the Bistro for the reception.
What a generous, Japan-inspired buffet we weretreated to! The Bistro was filled with talk andlaughter and amazingly, became a reunion of old
friends. A number of senior Fellows were present
at the Awards Ceremony: Kyaw Zeya (Myanmar
1996), now Adjunct Professor at WMU; Anete
Logina (Latvia 2009), who was to be conferredwith the degree of Doctor of Philosophy inMaritime Affairs the following day; Wai Lynn
Htut (Myanmar 2004), who was at WMU to see
his son receive his MSc; Jenette Mujingni

Senior WMU Sasakawa Fellows were also present

3(Cameroon 2012), who has just entered WMU’s
PhD programme as the first recipient of a PhD
fellowship donated by Copenhagen Malmö Port;
Safaa Al Fayyadh (Iraq 2010), currently enrolled
in the WMU PhD programme; and Hiep Duy
Khuong (Vietnam, 2009), who was in
Scandinavia on business. These reunions were
furthered the following day by the attendance ofKosal Thun Leng (Cambodia, 2009) and Dothy(Indonesia 2001) who were both in Sweden andable to attend the Graduation Ceremony.
Mr. John Paul Palattao from the Philippines
was chosen to represent the Class of 2016 Fellows
in thanking The Nippon Foundation. He
addressed the gathering, noting the generosity of
the Foundation and the opportunities afforded
each Sasakawa Fellow, firstly as WMU students
and then later as Fellows taking their place in theworld. He assured the Foundation that each
Fellow was sensitive to their future responsibilities
and pledged always to fulfil the expectations of
the Foundation. The network of Fellows was botha resource and a commitment; the new Fellows
would be proud to take their places beside themany WMU graduates who preceded them inthat very special union.
With many raising their glasses, the evening
ended; the end of a party, the beginning of newcareers as Sasakawa Fellows. And for 21 students
from 14 countries across the world, the next day
would bring the end of their time as WMU
students, and the beginning of a new life as
WMU graduates.
Congratulations!

Some Thoughts on Training Using Sailing Ships
Mitsushi Kojima
AuditorMarine Rescue Japan
In Japan, every July we hold the two-week long
Marine Festival centered around Marine Day. While
many events are held to promote awareness of marine
affairs during this Festival, the live drills to set thesails on the tall ships Nippon Maru and Kaiwo Maru
have become particularly important. The main eventsof the 2014 Marine Festival were held at Maizuru
Port, which was once a naval port and at present
serves as the 8th Regional Headquarters of the Japan
Coast Guard and the Maizuru District Headquartersof the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
On the midsummer afternoon of Saturday, July 26,
2014, the training ship Kaiwo Maru was berthed at
the wharf in Maizuru Port. Although the temperature
exceeded 35 °C, and the midsummer sun shone
unrelentingly, fortunately, the humidity was low, anda brisk sea breeze could be felt from time to time.
Many visitors, including grandparents andgrandchildren, young couples, elementary and middle
school children, and fans of sailing ships swarmed thewharf, waiting for the start of the Sail Drills.
Approximately 100 young cadets dressed intraining wear and yellow caps appeared on deck.
Following the command to commence the drill, they
began by setting the yard (a horizontal boom forsetting the sail), taking into account the direction of
the wind. Amid the piercing sounds of the instructor’s
sharp whistle and the cries of cadets to“Seno-Washoi!（“Heave-ho!”),” the yard slowly
turned and eventually stopped.
Next came the operations to set the sail. The voiceof the Captain giving the overall commands blaredfrom a loudspeaker, “Due to strong winds today,
there is a chance of a runaway if all the sails are set.
The temperature is also high and there is a danger ofheat exhaustion if we continue operations for a longtime. Therefore, we will not set the sails for the top
two yards.”
The top of the mast towers 50 meters above thewater surface. Even limiting the setting of the sails to
the fourth yard from the bottom, the height of thatyard easily exceeded 30 meters.
Aiming for a height equivalent to about a 10-story
building, the cadets slowly climbed up the rope ladderto the mast without stopping, looking quite audacious
and impressive. Once they reached the height of theyard, they immediately moved in a horizontal
direction and undid the sail ties to let the sail unfurl.
Those on deck then pulled on a rope that passed
through the lower end of the sail, tightening it, andallowing it to billow as it filled with wind. The entire

operation took about an hour. While we wanted
visitors to enjoy this majestic sight of the Kaiwo Maru
as long as possible, our schedule was tight. After ashort time, the trainees started to put everything backto its original position, stowing the sails in reverse
order. After completing their duties, they formed a line
on deck, and received a robust round of applause fromthe audience on the wharf.
Even today many large sailing ships are still inservice around the world as can be seen in the calendar
series “Sailing Ships of the World” published by theJapan Maritime Public Relations Center. These ships
actively take part in goodwill call to various countries
and in various maritime events. However, it can be said
that Japan is the only country that fully utilizes its
sailing ships for onboard training(1). When I used towork for the Maritime Academy Foundation, I wasoften asked questions like “I understand the attractionof sailing ships very well. Today, however, when theera of tall ships has long passed, why do you need theonboard training by sailing ships?” (See note (2)regarding the relationship between the Foundationand the Kaiwo Maru).
Although this question really reflects the current
status, I always answered these kinds of questions in
the following way:
“We have two objectives in our use of sailing ships
for training. The first is for our trainees to learn
teamwork through onboard training. Both the Nippon
Maru and Kaiwo Maru have 36 sails respectively, andsetting and stowing the sails and moving the yards are
all done by cadets themselves. This requires everyone tounite as one, call out to each other, and synchronize
timing. If any of these elements is missing, the trainees’
mission cannot be accomplished. I cannot think of amore suitable environment than this for learning theimportance of teamwork firsthand. Countries such as
Russia and Poland also utilize sailing ships. However,these ships are used only for familiarization training in
the initial stage of onboard training.

(1) While there are examples of countries like Russia and Poland incorporating practicaltraining on sailing ships in their training programs, their use of such ships is limited
to familiarization training in the early stages, and sailing ships are not used for thesame objectives as in Japan, other than for the initial familiarization training. (Thisdoes not apply to the coast guards and navies of those countries.)“The second reason is to convey to trainees a senseof the power of the wind and the power of waves
caused by the wind. This experience instills in them asense of awe regarding the power of nature. We neverknow what kind of adverse weather we may
encounter at sea. No matter how much information
can provide us by IT, it is ultimately humans who
must decide whether to continue a voyage or turnback. Therefore, it is essential for us to have a sense of
awe regarding the power of nature. In this context,practical training aboard sailing ships plays a vital roleeven today.”
Unlike training overseas, in Japan it is customary touse sailing ships not only in the initial stage but also
in the middle and/or final stages of the 12 months ofonboard training. Having onboard training on sailingships after acquiring fundamental knowledge of ships
enables cadets to acquire an adequate understandingof the impact of natural phenomena on ships.
With the wide use of simulators for training
purposes today, interest in the training of seafarers
seems to be moving in the direction of how to provide
training to students who cannot obtain onboard
training. In countries that either do not have training
ships or cannot provide training entirely on training
ships for 12 months, there is no choice but to placestudents on merchant ships. Therefore, I believe theneed for training ships that can provide onboard
training to a large number of students will further
increase in the future worldwide.
Sailing ships certainly have a romantic image.
However, the value of using sailing ships for training
goes far beyond its romantic aspect. Moreover, theexperience they offer cannot be substituted bysimulators. To borrow the words of the Duke of
Wellington(3), we can perhaps say, “The battle of theJapanese merchant marine will be won on the decksof the Nippon Maru and Kaiwo Maru.” I sincerely
hope that both ships will continue to provide thisvaluable experience to trainees in the future.

governmental subsidy, and bank loans.
The fundraising was undertaken by the “Renshusen Kyoiku Koenkai,” an association
for supporting training ship education, and the association leased the ship after its
completion to the then-named National Institute for Sea Training. The Maritime
Academy Foundation took over this work and remains in charge at present.

(2) Both the original Nippon Maru and Kaiwo Maru ships were built in the early (3) The Duke of Wellington (1769-1852). British soldier and statesman who defeatedShowa Period (1926 – 1989), and were decommissioned after serving as training
Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. Of the victory, he is said to havesailing ships for a little over 50 years. While construction of the ship that replaced
remarked, “The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.” Here he
the original Nippon Maru was fully funded by the government, the ship that
was alluding to the difference in basic training of officers in Britain and France,
replaced the original Kaiwo Maru, due to fiscal reasons, was built with publicwhich was the determining factor in who became the victor and loser in that battle.
donations, a grant from the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation, a4

Port EDI System to Move Myanmar Portsfrom Paper to Pixels by 2017
Kyaw Wanna (Myanmar, 2013)
Trade relies on transportation, and the latter
relies on port development, as more than 80% ofcargoes are transported by maritime transportation.
Therefore, one important part of the economicalreform of Myanmar’s transport sector is to develop
the ports. Myanmar’s ports still have to rely on
paper documents in order to record the passage ofships and transport of goods. This creates abottleneck, which is why the Myanmar Port
Authority (MPA) has been developing the PortElectronic Data Interchange (EDI) Project. Using
this system - which is an electronic system for port
clearance procedures - will alleviate problems withapplications for arrival/departure, and allocations,billing, and statistics management by the Port
Authority. It is in fact challenging for the Myanmar
Port Industry to achieve such a development.
The Port EDI system would not only help vessels
save time in these application procedures, but also
in invoicing, logistics and terminal management.
Over the past ten years, booming trade has
caused the number of vessels and cargo throughput
to double, which calls for efficient management.
For that purpose, the Myanmar Port Authority
asks port administrators, shipping companies andprivate firms to all use the EDI system.
The Port EDI system will lay the groundwork
for Myanmar to join the ASEAN Single Window
Initiative, connecting the National Single Window
to global economic integration. Myanmar aims tojoin the Asean Economic Community by 2018.
With the aid of 1,720,000,000 yen from JICA,
Myanmar's economic growth is accelerating, by

Kyaw Wanna, 2013

Myo Nyein Aye, 2007

modernizing cargo handling systems andoperations at Yangon Port, Myanmar’s major cargo
port. The Exchange of Notes between the Republicof the Union of Myanmar and the Government ofJapan was signed on March 19, 2015, and the Grant
Agreement between MPA, on behalf of the
Ministry of Transport of the Government of the
Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and the JICA
Myanmar Office, on behalf of JICA, was signed on
March 26, 2015.
To develop the project, Mitsubishi ResearchInstitute (MRI) was appointed as the consultant andthe Hitachi Solution Co, Ltd. has been selected as
the developer for the Port EDI system. Starting
development in October 2015, the Myanmar PortEDI System has business functions for port-related
procedures, berth allocation, invoice issuing,
statistics management, terminal operation, logistics
monitoring and linking with external systems.
Currently, the basic design stage has been

Colliding Worlds
Ahmed Shihan (Maldives, 2005)

The world is a small place. Once upon a time thissentence used to have a different meaning withdifferent implications. However, in contemporary
times, with globalization and better communication
technology, the world has truly become a smaller place.
Each of us lives in a world with some parts of it sharedwith some people, while other parts of our world areshared with others. Yet, every now and then, we findthese different parts of our world coming together. I
have just experienced such a collision of two worlds.
More than a decade ago, while a director at theMaldives Ports Authority, I was most fortunate to
become a Sasakawa Fellow and achieve my MSc
qualification at WMU. Though my specialization wasPort Management, environmental issues were alreadywell integrated in the academic content as well as insome regulations. In many countries around the world
legislation was either being drafted or already enforced
regarding the protection of the environment.
MARPOL had been astutely tuned in to serve thispurpose. In short, the environment was alreadyimportant.
As the years progressed, my career diverged from amaritime environment at the port to a policy
environment in the government. Currently, one of myresponsibilities is being a member of the board of
directors at the state owned Waste Management
Corporation (WaMCo) of Maldives. The managementof waste in the country is at an infant stage. Already thecapital city of Malé is producing waste that is beyond
the capacity of the processing facilities currently
available, and new methods are being sought. However,any new technology introduced must adhere to strict
environmental regulations and guidelines alreadyenacted.
It is in this role that I was fortunate again to visit
Japan in July 2016, nearly twelve years after my first trip
there as a Sasakawa Fellow. The main purpose was tostudy Japan’s waste handling technology and its impact
on the environment, and to see if anything could beapplicable to Maldives. Japan handles waste in aremarkably efficient way, utilizing a 3R concept:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. As it happens, Maldives also
initiated the 3R concept in 2015.
During this visit, I was honoured to meet with Mr.
Kudo and Mr. Ichikawa of the Sasakawa Peace
Foundation, and then later joined by a WMU colleagueof my senior year, Ms. Yakabe, for dinner. The evening
was a most memorable one; in recent years, I honestly
cannot recall enjoying an evening more. I remember
thinking how wonderful it felt to find friends from thepast while on a trip that came about from such a
different area. The world is truly a small place.
However, whether we are involved in the maritime
field or waste management policy, environmental issues
are so similar and so real. Regulation alone won’t suffice.
Everyone’s attitude towards protecting the environmentis just as important today as it was twelve years ago.

5

Aung Thein Win, 2009concluded among MPA officials, members ofHitachi Solutions, and consultants of Mitsubishi
Research Institute. Several meetings have been heldamong the three parties in order to launch thesystem at the beginning of October 2017.
After the system’s implementation, we can
expect great improvements on shipment
procedures, port services and performance. In
addition, the superior in charge will get access toreports (berth maps, cargo information, etc.) in atimely fashion.
There are three Sasakawa Fellows working at the
Myanmar Port Authority, and all are key players in
the development of the Port EDI project.
I am happy to be able to inform you of all thisand meet one of the main objectives of the
Sasakawa Fellowship program: to share the latest
international maritime information and to actively
discuss the situation of each country.

The 17th AGA of IAMU in Hai Phong, Vietnam

Felicity Viola Ankoma-Sey (Ghana, 2001)

The 17th Annual General Assembly ofInternational Association of Maritime
Universities (IAMU) started in earnest on the
26th of October, 2016, with an opening
ceremony at the Vietnam Maritime University.
A summary of the theme was the need forhighly trained seafaring officers for thetechnologically advanced large ships of today,
and the progressively automated ships of the
future. This had been a clarion call from Dr.
Yohei Sakakawa and other industry experts in
the recent past. It was noted that education ofseafaring officers, which was previously
vocational based, was transitioning into muchbroader education, with many maritime
universities offering degrees equivalent todegrees in the various fields of maritime
transport studies, and further providing nodes
for career diversions when a seafarer opted toretire from sailing. It was also noted in thisregard that the various universities had theirunique curricula. The AGA explored thepossibility for IAMU member Maritime
Universities to run common curricula, with theaim of producing standardized, internationalseafarers capable of working harmoniously
anywhere in the world.
Some interesting points raised during thedeliberations were as follows:
1. Different institutions had different foci for
their graduates, bringing in limitations to having
common curricula for all maritime institutions.
2. An IAMU standard curriculum could be
produced to be a model guide and be adopted bymaritime institutions.
3 . Th e c o m m o n b a s e f o r a l l s e a f a r i n g
programmes must continue to be the STCW
requirement, which makes seafarers technicallycompetent.
4. A benefit to derive from common curricula
was equivalent units between institutions, which
would enable students to engage in exchange
programmes.
5. Degrees for seafaring officers should also
provide a preparation for those seafarers whowish to transition to shore-based careers beyond
their service at sea.
The AGA offered the opportunity for
networking and collaborations amongst
participants. It was a great opportunity toreunite with Friends of WMU Sasakawa Fellow
and WMU graduates. With top classprofessional conference organization, awesome
sights, and nice food, Vietnam was a great place
to be. Thanks to our Vietnamese hosts, whowere so friendly and full of sunshine, and thanks
to all who contributed to the success story.

The 32nd ASEAN Maritime Transport
Working Group Meeting in Bohol, Philippines
Jean Pia (Philippines, 2003)

The Philippines hosted the 32nd ASEAN
Maritime Transport Working Group Meeting(MTWG) on the island of Panglao, Bohol, Philippines from October 18-20, 2016. Composed of
ten nations, the delegates from the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) flocked tothe island to deliberate on the agenda ofenhanced connectivity and interdependence on
the opening of the maritime highways within theregion. Picking up from the requirements set
during the 41st Senior Transport Officials Meeting (STOM), the 21st ASEAN Transport Ministers (ATM) Meeting, and other ASEAN coordinating bodies, follow-through actions on someagenda items include: the establishment of asingle shipping market, current arrangements forStandards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) on near coastal
voyages, implementation of the Master Plan andFeasibility Study on the establishment of theASEAN RO-RO (roll-on/roll-off) Shipping
Network and Short Sea Shipping, enhancementof maritime safety for the establishment ofefficient shipping routes, formulation and implementation of ASEAN Oil Spill Response Action
Plan, sustainable ports development, maritime
transport agreement with India, ASEAN-Japan
Cruise Promotion Strategy, Implementation of
the Electronic Data Interchange in ASEANIMLI and WMU graduates at the 32nd ASEAN MTWG Meeting in Bohol

ports, Development Study for Inland Improvement with Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar andViet Nam (CLMV) and Thailand, improvementof the linkage in the Mekong Region and theapproval of the MTWG Work Plan.
The meeting was chaired by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) Administrator, Marcial
Q.C. Amaro III, Ph.D., and co-chaired by Mr.
Benjamin Wong, Deputy Director of the Singapore Maritime Ports Authority (MPA). The Philippines shall host two more MTWG meetings in
April and September/October of 2017, within aninterval of six months.
Along with the delegates from the ten ASEAN
Member States were staff members of theASEAN Secretariat, Observers from the Federation of ASEAN Shipowners’ Association(FASA), the International Maritime Organization

6(IMO), as well as Global Initiative for South
East Asia (GISEA) and dialogue partners from
China, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
Other groups, such as the ASEAN Port Association (APA), FASA, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur
Internationale Zusammernarbeit (GIZ), IMO,
and the IMO-Global Initiative for Southeast
Asia (GISEA), coordinated and came up withstrategic plans, policies, and best practice systems.
As shown in the photo above, graduates of theWorld Maritime University (WMU) and theIMO International Maritime Law Institute(IMLI), who were mostly funded by The Nippon
Foundation and the Sasakawa Fellowship,
attended the meeting as representatives of theirrespective countries or forming part of the Philippine Secretariat (Organizing Committee).

Dr. Sasakawa Visits Indonesia“A Magnet for Sasakawa Fellows in Indonesia”
Syafiuddin (Indonesia, 2016)

December 15, 2016, became a special day
for me, as I had the opportunity to meet andhave a short conversation with Dr. Sasakawa.
His presence was a “magnet” for all us
Indonesian Sasakawa Fellows, particularly the
Jakarta chapter. When we heard about hisplan to visit Jakarta and to have lunch with us,
we coordinated and adjusted our plans since
his agenda was very tight.
Dr. Sasakawa didn’t only invite Sasakawa
Fellows, but as is customary, there were also
representatives from other entities, such as
API, University for Peace, and the Indonesian
Institute of Science. Therefore, we only had avery short time to re-introduce ourselves tohim. Following this, Dr. Sasakawa gave ashort speech, mainly covering his agenda andhis experiences in Indonesia.
Dr. Sasakawa emphasized that one of his
main goals was to discuss and try to eliminate
the negative stigma associated with leprosy
patients in Indonesia, by providing knowledge
and understanding to the community. He

stressed that leprosy is curable, and if thesufferer has recovered, the condition is notdifferent from other diseases such as malaria,
dengue, etc.
It is not caused by a curse, as many of thesuperstitious believe, and if treated early there
will be no deformity, making early detection
very important. Therefore, there should be nodiscrimination whatsoever against those who

suffer from this disease and their families.
After the speech, we had some very good
news. Dr. Sasakawa said that he was planningto visit Indonesia twice in 2017, and he waslooking forward to having a wonderful timewith us - his Indonesian family.
Terima kasih and (dōmo) arigatō
gozaimashita!

Visit of an MTC and WMU Professor
Jose Romualdo Q. Denzon(Philippines, 2011)

It was the morning of August 24 when mycellphone received a message saying “Goodmorning. Professor Toshio Hikima will be
arriving on September 8. Are you aware ofthis?” The wonderful news came from mygood friend Armando Espiritu, a student ofProfessor Hikima at the World Maritime
University in the late 90’s. The news ofHikima-sensei’s visit was finally confirmed by
the professor himself in an email to me on
August 30.
In retrospect, Hikima-sensei, as we
respectfully call him, was my professor in
Marine Electricity at the Marine TechnicalCollege in Ashiya City, Japan. I was his
student in 1994 under the JICA Bilateral
Scholarship Program. Being younger then, I
was eager to learn new skills and acquire
cutting-edge information from my studies.
Japan is known to be a technological giant anda nation leading in scientific research. My
studies, therefore, played a vital role inacquiring invaluable information in the realmof modern technology. Subsequently, in 2010,
I was accepted for a WMU Master’s Degree
program under the Sasakawa Peace
Foundation.

At the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Manila, Philippines
Left to right: Me, Capt. Alfredo Vidal, Jr. (Deputy Administrator for Operations), Dr. Marcial Q. C. Amaro
III (Administrator), Prof. Toshio Hikima, Capt. Masashi Sugomori and Capt. Eleazar G. Diaz (Executive
Director, MARINA STCW Office)Now that one of my beloved professors would
be coming over to visit us, it was necessary that
he be accorded the respect and beneficence that
he deserves. On September 8 at around 1600
hours, we picked up Hikima-sensei and Capt.
Sugomori at their hotel, and together weproceeded to the MARINA office. Right after
the meeting with the MARINA officials, weheaded towards the Coast Guard where atestimonial dinner in honor of Admiral Cecil
Chen (s01) was being held. Admiral Chen7announced Hikima-sensei as his special guest.
After exchanging some pleasantries, we left
the reception hall and decided to move to a
karaoke bar. There we enjoyed singing,
drinking and conversing with each otherbefore we called it a day. Certainly, the visit ofHikima-sensei and Capt. Sugomori was amemorable one. It definitely is something that
I will treasure for a lifetime, and I lookforward to their next visit – Ja mata (see you
again), Hikima-sensei!

WISTA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR 2016
Analia Soledad Viggiano (Argentina, 2013)

Hello, dear Sasakawa Fellows! I have the pleasure to inform all of you that on
November 9, 2016, at the Women´s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) International Conference and Annual General Meeting, I wasawarded as “WISTA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR 2016”.
WISTA is a prestigious international organization that, through an international network, promotes gender equality, following the IMO goals of empowering women towards leadership in the maritime industry.
Prior to each Annual Conference, representatives of each national WISTA - in
my case WISTA Argentina - select a candidate to participate in the final selection of WISTA INTERNATIONAL Personality of the Year. This award
honors an individual in the maritime community for their professional excellenceand outstanding achievements, representing a role model for female maritime
professionals.
As a part of the SASAKAWA family, I am so grateful to WMU for theirfinancial support while I was a student. I graduated in 2013 with a Master´sdegree in Maritime Safety and Environmental Administration, and was honored
to be awarded the Chancellor´s Medal for Academic Excellence and the Pierre

Leonard Prize for the Best Female
Student. I feel the emotional
support of all of you as a realfamily, connected worldwide, and I
always feel joined to all Sasakawa
members.
Being part of the Sasakawa
Family and obtaining my Master´sdegree at WMU allowed me toWith Maria Belén Espiñerira, WISTA
grow professionally as well as
ARGENTINA President
personally, giving me the opportunity to understand the maritime industry from a broad international spectrum,with all that entails. In this regard, as part of my professional growth, in January
2015 I was the first woman in the Argentine Coast Guard to receive the command of a patrol ship. As Captain I had under my command seventeen males, apositive personal experience that proves that it is possible to realize empowerment
and leadership roles for women in the maritime industry.

Sasakawa Fellows: Indispensable to the Maritime World
Efa Rosida Dwi Aditirta (Indonesia, 2013)

The perk of being a World Maritime University graduate is you areconsidered a first-rate maritime expert, which enables you to get involved inmany maritime-related activities. Since I joined my team at work right after
graduation, there were several roles that I played, such as a speaker in a seminaron safety and environmental issues, a trainer on the introduction andimplementation of IMO mandatory instruments, an Indonesian delegate for
IMO meetings, among others.
The last IMO meeting I attended was the 97th Session of Maritime Safety
Committee (MSC 97) from November 21-25, 2016. During this session, theCommittee discussed and decided on several agenda related to ship safety andsecurity, including the implementation of goal-based standards for new ship
construction of bulk carriers and oil tankers, the carriage of more than 12
industrial personnel on board vessels engaged in international voyages, as well as
the consideration and adoption of amendments to mandatory instruments.
While attending the meeting, I had the great opportunity to be introduced to
WMU graduates from all around the world when IMO Secretariat General,
Mr. Kitack Lim, asked the alumni of WMU and IMLI to take a picture withhim. I was honored to stand with these remarkable maritime experts who allplay active roles in the maritime field, particularly at IMO.
I was also amazed at their achievements. As we all know, IMO is where
many experts from different countries and backgrounds, with many years’
experience and notable knowledge in maritime fields contribute in enhancing
and promoting safer, more secure ships, cleaner oceans and efficient shipping.
Therefore, being recognized by these experts can be seen as the highest

achievement for someone in the maritime field.
Among the WMU graduates were eight Sasakawa Fellows: Mr. Zhang
Renping (China, 1998), Ms. Sandra Allnut (Brazil, 1999), Mr. Xie Hui (China,2001), Mr. Tomonori Okamura (Japan, 2002), Mr. Sun Jun (China, 2005), Mr.
Aji Vasudevan (India, 2010), Mr. Masashi Sugomori (Japan, 2010), and me, Efa
R.D. Aditirta (Indonesia, 2013).
Mr. Sun Jun and Ms. Sandra Allnut are currently working at IMO, while
Mr. Aji Vasudevan and Mr. Xie Hui chair the III Sub-Committee and CCC
Sub-Committee, respectively.
Influenced by this year’s IMO slogan, “Shipping: Indispensable to theWorld", I hope that there will be more and more WMU graduates, especially
Sasakawa Fellows who will play important roles in maritime fields so that in thenear future, we can create our own slogan, “Sasakawa Fellows: Indispensable to
the Maritime World”.

Happy Wedding

I met my wife in Hanoi in 2015 during the Tet Holiday at a party of a mutual friend. We didn’t talk much thenbut got in contact later, chatting often about life and our personal hobbies. Since we have quite a few good friends
in common, our group often went on trips to many places in Vietnam. Over the course of a year, I realized that we
had more than just a lot in common, we had a special affection for each other. Our love story started from the most
simple and sincere friendship, resulting in our getting married on November 1, 2016, in Hanoi, after one year of
dating. The happy event was even more special because 10 WMU graduates attended and blessed us with so many
best wishes.
Dang Thanh Binh (Vietnam, 2012)

Before I began taking on this role in June 2016, I was working for the Embassy of Japan in the UK for three years. During my tour as theAlternate Permanent Representative of Japan to IMO, I met many graduates of WMU there, including the IMO Secretariat, Chairs ofCommittees and Sub-Committees, and Permanent Representatives. Prior to this, I really did not know a lot about the role and achievementsof WMU, although I knew that some of my Japanese colleagues were graduates. Through my experiences as Permanent Representative, I
have realized and envied the fact that all of them keep in touch as a kind of IMO mafia! I hope this will continue and be encouraged further
in the future. Fortunately, I am still involved in IMO matters and other maritime environmental issues. I have the opportunity to joinmeetings as a delegate from Japan, namely MEPC, PPR and CCC, as well as other international meetings. I can now see IMO from adifferent perspective, and I have come to realize that it is one of the most efficient international organizations in terms of making progress on
maritime safety and environmental issues. The important role that this great institution plays in this field makes me proud to have engaged
with it, and I hope that many of our readers share this same point of view.

Mr. Yusuke Mori, Mr. Yasufumi Onishi,
The Sasakawa Peace Foundation Bldg., 1-15-16 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8524 Japan
Tel: +81-(0)3-5157-5263 Fax: +81-(0)3-5157-5230 URL: http://www.spf.org/e/Yasufumi Onishi

Japan Ship Technology
Research Association