Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 101, August 2006

Interview of Archbishop Agostino Marchetto with Vatican Radio on Panama Canal

(April 25^th, 2006)

1) The importance of world trade

We live in a global society which is supported by a global economy, and that economy could not function if the shipping industry and the maritime world did not exist.“International shipping: carrier of world trade”, was the theme of the World Maritime Day 2005, organized by IMO (International Maritime Organisation). In this respect, we must consider that more than 90% of international trade still take place by sea. This activity involves more than 90,000 vessels and 1,250,000 seafarers. Also, shipping plays a vital role in underpinning international commerce and the world economy as the most efficient, and safe environmentally method of transporting goods around the globe. 

2) The importance of Panama Canal

For nearly 100 years the Panama Canal has been a key link in international shipping routes, handling an estimated 5% of world trade each year. Now, its planned expansion could hit its importance for international trade and as main source of income for the country. The idea is to build a new set of locks parallel to the three existing ones to permit the passage of post-Panamax ships, which are too large for the existing locks.  

3) Present challenges of maritime trade

We cannot forget the vital contribution to the prosperity and well-being of all of us from the part of the men and women who work and live at sea. In no other age there was such prosperity, wealth and technological advances in the maritime industry and yet countless workers of the sea are in extreme need, as so many of them are faced with new forms of exploitation in their living and working conditions. The solidarity of the Catholic Church with the people of the sea is especially manifested by the Apostleship of the Sea, whose mission is to accompany, as members of the Church, seafarers, fishers and their families, to care for their pastoral and spiritual needs and to revive their hope.

On February 2006 the International Labor Organisation adopted a new comprehensive Labour Convention which, when it enters into force, will represent a decisive step forward for the world of maritime work. It constitutes a “bill of rights” of the people of the sea to promote opportunities for seafarers to obtain decent and productive work, in condition of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. This is why we welcome this new Convention so that the globalised maritime industry be given a human face.