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Kofi Annan: more needs to be done on safety of shipping

In an official response to a letter sent by Greenpeace International, the International Transport Worker's Federation and WWF International to the Secretary-General from the United Nations, Kofi A. Annan agreed that much more needs to be done on "the safety of shipping , the protection of the marine environment and the safeguarding of the livlihoods of millions of people all over the world who depend upon the bounty of the sea".

The letter was sent on the 22th of November following the accident with the Prestige. In this letter the organisations called for urgent and concerted action to eliminate sub-standard shipping and practices in order to protect the environment and safety of life at sea. Read the official response.

Greenpeace pleads for a full and unlimited liability for environmental disasters like the sinking of the Prestige. This liability should include the owners, managers and operators of a vessel and of any charterers or owners of the cargo. More on our call for full liability for environmental disasters.