Mr Secretary-General, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, ladies and gentlemen.

On behalf of the Danish Government, I am delighted to welcome you to Denmark.

You are situated in the heart of one of the world’s most significant maritime business centres.

I hope this will inspire your discussions during the coming days.

As the Minister for Maritime Affairs, it is indeed a great honour to have you here.

I am grateful that the appreciation of the IMO in Denmark clearly goes beyond the government and the Danish maritime administration.

Great efforts have been made in order to arrange this meeting and the social events during the coming days.

Denmark regards IMO as a cornerstone in international maritime regulation. Denmark’s location, our trade patterns and our shipping industry emphasise why we look to the global stage to develop regulation.

First of all, global regulation ensures regulation of ships passing by our long coastline, for example through the entrances to the Baltic Sea.

Despite the modest size of Denmark, Denmark’s coast line extends for 7,300 kilometres which is almost equivalent to the coast line of India [7,600 kilometres].

We want to protect the environment and our exceptional beaches.

Even in the Copenhagen harbour you find beaches awarded with The Blue Flag eco-label.

Unfortunately, the weather in October is not perfect for a trip to the beach, so you will have to come back next summer to experience that!

Secondly, even though Denmark has a long coastline, most ships flying the Danish flag, rarely visit a Danish port.

The Danish shipping industry quite simply operates on a global market.

It is essential to ensure a level playing field for the shipping industry on the basis of safe and secure ships.

Preferably manned with well-qualified seafarers, and with due regard to the environment – no matter where in the world the ships operate.

This is why we pay so much attention to the continued development of strategic goals and visions within the IMO.

It is paramount that IMO continues to meet new challenges in the maritime field with long-term global solutions.

It is equally important that all Member States of the IMO show real commitment when it comes to ratification, effective implementation and enforcement of IMO instruments.

It cannot be emphasised enough:

An IMO Convention with an insufficient number of ratifications, with slack implementation or inefficient enforcement is worthless.

It only serves to undermine the credibility of the Organization.

May I take this opportunity to urge all Member States of the IMO to make every effort to put action behind their words by ratifying and implementing already existing IMO instruments.

IMO is only what Member States make of it. It is as simple as that!

Last year, the Danish Government launched an action plan for Danish shipping entitled “The Danish Maritime Cluster - An Agenda for Growth”.

We did this because Denmark is among the world’s most competitive shipping nations.

Danish shipping carries 10 per cent of the world’s trade.

Danish shipowners have a programme for building new ships of about 300 ships and 15 million deadweight tons.

The Danish maritime cluster is based on long standing maritime traditions.

We maintain stable and competitive economic framework conditions.

And Danish shipping has a high level of safety, environmental protection, security and good working and living conditions for seafarers.

Shipping is indeed one of the strongholds of the Danish economy.

However, we need to improve continuously and to meet the challenges from globalisation and other challenges that lie ahead.

Conditions for growth, dynamics and competitiveness in the global maritime cluster shall be enhanced.

Health, safety and environmental measures on ships shall be maintained and improved. As this can only be done at a global level, the IMO is a key factor in this development.

In a world with ever changing priorities, we are facing major challenges in the IMO family. To maintain its position IMO must continue to deliver the appropriate framework for all of us.

Lately the issue of air pollution and green house gas emissions has become a high priority item on the political agenda – and with very good reason.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you Mr. Secretary-General for your leadership on this issue.

I sincerely hope that all Member States of the IMO will make an extra effort to reach consensus on the necessary decisions in the near future.

Time and time again, we have shown that within the IMO we are ready to make the necessary decisions in order to continue to improve safety and security and to take care of the environment.

One example is the Goal Based Standards Approach which you will discuss during the next days.

I hope Danish traditions of finding innovative solutions will affect future development in this field. Quite often, innovation and new technologies can help us achieve our goals in a better way.

Also regarding the Voluntary Audit Scheme, the IMO has taken a major step forward to ensure harmonised implementation of global rules.

The audit scheme is an excellent opportunity to learn from each other.

And in order to obtain the full benefits of it, we believe that the audit scheme ought to be made mandatory in a not too distant future.

But for now, I strongly encourage Member States that have not yet volunteered to be audited to do so. From our own experience, I can assure you that it is a very educational process for everyone involved.

There are many other interesting and important topics you will discuss over the next days. I hope you will finalise your deliberations on the new code for investigation of accidents at sea.

I believe it is crucial that we learn from our mistakes.

A common global framework for accident investigation will help us improve safety and save lives.

Another matter of gravity is piracy.

A Danish ship with 5 crew members on board was recently hijacked off the coast of Somalia and held captive by pirates for almost 3 months.

It was a very worrying time for everyone involved, and especially for the seafarers and their families.

We need to ensure that acts of piracy and armed robberies against ships are eliminated. This is not an easy task.

However, our friends in South East Asia have shown us one way forward – and I applaud them for their efforts.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you Mr. Secretary-General for your excellent initiative with regards to piracy.

Earlier this year you urged the UN to take further action to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia.

It is important that combating piracy remains high on the agenda of the IMO and I do hope that the IMO Assembly will emphasize the importance of IMO and UN initiatives to this end.

Finally, I wish this session of the MSC lots of success.

I hope that you will all have a pleasant stay in Copenhagen.

In addition, I hope that both the IMO Secretariat and you, Distinguished Delegates, will be satisfied with the preparations we have made for the occasion.

As Minister for Economic and Business Affairs, I am also responsible for tourism. I therefore hope your stay in Copenhagen will spark your interest in Denmark and the Danish culture.

Should you find the time then have a closer look at the prominent Danish shipping industry’s exhibitions in the hallway located just outside the plenary. This displays some of the best that maritime Denmark can offer.

Mr Secretary-General, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I hope your discussions will be fruitful and your results ambitious.

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow evening at the gala performance at the Opera. Thank you for your attention.