Shipping is a vital link in global trade: about 90 per cent of all international trade is carried by sea.
Shipping is highly regulated at the international level. The conventions of the International Maritime Organization form the basis for regulation. The central international conventions are SOLAS (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea) regulating maritime safety, and MARPOL (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships) regarding conservation of the environment.
The objective of the Finnish Transport Safety Agency's maritime sector is to maintain the high level of safety achieved. Safety culture is a central instrument in this work. Trafi plays a significant role in ensuring the professional competence of seafarers, and monitoring ship safety through surveys and inspections.
Trafi plays an active role in enhancing maritime safety both within IMO and at the EU level. In recent years, Trafi has been involved, among other things, in revising the STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) Convention, and in preparing for its implementation in conjunction with the Ministry of Transport and Communications.