Open the strait, with Arsenio Dominguez - Secretary-General of the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO)

Oil price surges have put international shipping in the spotlight in recent months. But what about the people behind the headlines? What happens to them when the news cycle moves on? "[Seafarers] feel forgotten because when they turn on the media, all the headlines are about how petrol is going up, how this is affecting the global economy, how things goes three, four times the price that normally they will pay for it, and nobody talks about the seafarer. We need more countries to recognize them as key workers." With up to 90 percent of all goods globally transported by sea, the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) works to help commercial shipping and international trade ride the waves of war, piracy and geopolitics. Growing up near the Panama Canal, Arsenio Dominguez was always fascinated by mighty cargo ships sailing through on their way to distant shores. Now Secretary-General of the IMO, his role is to defend seafarers and give shipping the recognition it deserves. "Whenever you affect shipping, everybody else gets affected, even if you're not part of the conflict. This is not good for anyone. This is not good for the global population, for the global economy, for politics. We need to protect shipping more." In this episode, Arsenio Dominguez reflects on years of back-to-back challenges for international shipping, on efforts to decarbonize, and shares why the power of positive thinking and the encouragement of his mother have always been his guiding lights. Edited transcript, photos, multimedia and more at the AAN website: https://www.un.org/en/awake-at-night/s13-arsenio-dominguez-open-the-strait Podcast full video available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LsGArn7T8i8