The next IMO secretary-general: Suat Hayri Aka

Suat Hayri Aka, Turkiye’s candidate for the secretary general’s position at the International Maritime Organization, has probably the most diverse curriculum vitae of all seven candidates standing for election on Tuesday. He began his career as a deck officer, and after time at sea went ashore to work in shipmangement and other maritime businesses. In addition to seafaring and commercial experience, Aka’s government roles include head of Turkiye’s maritime authority, and secretary, deputy undersecretary, and undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs. There, he became involved in the regulation of the country’s aviation sector, which led to his appointment as the country’s delegate at the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the United Nation’s equivalent of the IMO. None of the other candidates have experience at this UN regulator, which Aka said was ahead of the IMO when it came to developing greenhouse gas emissions strategies. The secretary general’s four-year appointment begins on January 1, with the winner to succeed the incumbent over the past eight years, South Korea’s Kitack Lim. Bangladesh (Moin Uddin Ahmed), China (Zhang Xiajojie), Dominica (Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry), Finland (Minna Kivimäki), Kenya (Nancy Karigithu), Panama (Arsenio Dominguez) and Türkiye (Suat Hayri Aka) all put forward their nominations for the position, which for the first time includes three women. As most secretary-generals are normally re-elected for a second term, the successful candidate will take the IMO through key climate change regulations in shipping and other challenges, such as autonomous shipping, a looming seafarer shortfall, as well as digitalisation and other internal reorganisations.