Global network of Ocean Centres aims to "put safety at the heart of the blue economy transition in emerging ocean economies".
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A new international effort to improve safety and sustainability in ocean industries launches today at the UN Ocean Conference 2025 in Nice, France. The initiative, led by the United Nations Global Compact and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, will see the creation of new Ocean Centres in seven countries: Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
According to the project leaders, the Ocean Centres are being set up to support safer growth in ocean economies, particularly in countries where maritime industries play a major role in jobs, trade, and food security.
Rather than physical offices, the Centres will operate as national networks, led by local experts and supported by a wide range of stakeholders, including engineers, safety professionals, businesses, and community leaders.
"Changing global workforce patterns, climate change, the energy transition, and technological innovation continue to bring new challenges and opportunities in growing ocean economies," said Erik Giercksky, Ocean Lead at the UN Global Compact, via a press release.
"Collective, local action to drive safe and sustainable solutions is key to protecting those most affected as we work towards a people and nature positive future," he added.
The Centres will focus on practical safety issues across a range of sectors, including green shipping, ports, offshore energy, aquaculture, fishing, and ocean finance.
They will host national discussions, share local knowledge, and help shape recommendations for improving safety and working conditions. Each country’s work will also feed into international learning across the network, the project leaders said.
“This initiative reflects the Foundation’s commitment to being led by local voices,” said Dr. Ruth Boumphrey, Chief Executive of Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
“Whilst keeping people safe is a universal ambition, every country has its own unique ambitions to grow their maritime economies, bringing with it safety challenges and opportunities which can only be properly understood by local stakeholders. By sharing local perspectives across the centres, we can all learn from each other," she added.
Each Ocean Centre will be led by the local UN Global Compact network and guided by a national coordinator, whose work will build on research into workforce needs, infrastructure, and policy gaps in each country.
"In countries like Indonesia, where the ocean economy makes up 20% of GDP and employs 10% of the workforce, the need for safe and sustainable maritime practices is urgent and global in its implications," the co-leads of the initiative said.
The initial phase of the project is to run for 18 months, closing with a global Ocean Centres Manifesto intended to synthesise the lessons, solutions, and policy proposals developed across all seven countries, and to serve as a guide for those investing in ocean sustainability.
The official launch is taking place today, 10 June at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, during a high-level side event, United by Ocean Centres – Global and Local Ocean Collaboration in Practice.
