President Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of a new office building of the State Maritime Administration.

Major strides have been achieved in recent years in the area of navigation and all other spheres of life in the country.

Azerbaijan is a member of the International Maritime Organization, which includes a total of 170 countries. Over the past period, our country has joined 20 international conventions pertaining to navigation. Exercising control over compliance with the said conventions on the part of maritime enterprises, organizations and vessels flying the state flag of Azerbaijan, the State Maritime Administration has achieved great progress in this field.

In accordance with the policies identified by President Ilham Aliyev, targeted measures are being taken to further enhance Azerbaijan’s authority among other states and relevant international organizations. The State Maritime Administration pays special attention to studying the experience of the world’s leading countries in the field of maritime transport and ways of applying it in Azerbaijan. Our country is developing multilateral cooperation not only with the International Maritime Organization, but also with the International Labor Organization, the European Union’s Maritime Safety Agency, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization and other international bodies. The opening of the new office building of the State Maritime Administration is an example of the attention the government is paying to the specialists in maritime transport.

The Chief of the State Maritime Administration, Gudrat Gurbanov, reported to President Ilham Aliyev. He said conditions at the new office building meet top standards. On the first floor, there is a bust of great leader Heydar Aliyev and a photo stand reflecting the contributions of the nationwide leader to the development of the maritime industry.

President Aliyev reviewed models of different vessels flying the state flag of Azerbaijan.

Then, the President visited the National Center for remote identification and monitoring established at the office of the State Maritime Administration.

Providing detailed information about the Center, Gudrat Gurbanov said Azerbaijan was the first Caspian state to have such a center in order to meet the requirements of the “International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea” to which Azerbaijan is a signatory. The main functions of the National Center are to oversee, through satellites and radars, the ships sailing in the territorial waters of Azerbaijan, ensure their security, communicate relevant navigational warnings and meteorological reports to vessels, monitor compliance with the “Regulations for navigation in the territorial waters of the Republic of Azerbaijan”, communicate the SOS alarm and other information received from vessels to relevant government bodies, organize coordination, facilitate regular operational liaison and information exchange with similar national centers and shipping companies from other countries and international organizations.

Experts demonstrated the process of remote identification and monitoring of vessels.

It was noted that from the standpoint of technical equipment, the National Center for remote identification and monitoring is superior to similar institutions of advanced European countries. Specialists hired to work at the Center undergo training at similar centers of foreign countries.

After examining the Center, the head of state reviewed several offices, a conference room and meeting rooms.