IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu has announced the theme of this year's Maritime Day: "Sustainable Development: IMO’s contribution beyond Rio+20." The theme reflects IMO's push for efforts to ensure that the industry becomes greener and cleaner. Sekimizu named eight "pillars" that illsutrate this vision:

• safety culture and environmental stewardship
• energy efficiency
• new technology and innovation
• maritime education and training
• maritime security and anti-piracy actions
• maritime traffic management
• maritime infrastructure development
• global standards at IMO

IMO has posted a briefing covering Sekimizu's remarks on Maritime Day at IMO’s first meeting of the year, the Sub-Committee on Fire Protection:

IMO Secretary-General launches 2013 World Maritime Day theme: “Sustainable Development: IMO’s contribution beyond Rio+20”