Member States and observers at IMO paid their tribute to the victims of the earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria on 6 February 2023, causing widespread destruction across densely populated cities and claiming more than 46,000 lives so far, with the numbers sadly increasing by the hour.

On 10 February a one-minute silence was observed at the opening of the final day of the ninth session of the Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW Sub-Committee), which was held at IMO headquarters in London.

The Chair of the HTW Sub-Committee, Mr Haakon Storhaug (Norway), led the observance of the silence and called for a moment of reflection and remembrance for those affected by the natural disaster. He conveyed the thoughts and prayers of all delegations attending the meeting to the people affected by this terrible tragedy.

Türkiye is home to the largest number of refugees in the world with up to 3.6 million Syrians living there, according to the United Nations, having fled war in their own country. In Syria, the UN estimates that 5.3 million people may have been left homeless by the earthquakes.

In a statement to the HTW Sub-Committee, the delegation of Türkiye expressed their gratitude for the generous and overwhelming support flowing in from the international community and provided an update on the dire situation in the affected areas.

The delegation stated that the efforts of the international community are highly appreciated and underlined that this disaster was: ‘a reminder to us all of the fragility of life and the importance of coming together in times of need.’

Donations can be made to the UN Crisis Relief Türkiye-Syria earthquake appeal here:

https://crisisrelief.un.org/turkiye-syria-earthquake-appeal

Port advisories

By 17 February the port’s dry cargo terminals were returning to service except for Limak where there was a fire after the earthquake. It is understood that the terminal needs at least two to three months to return to service.

Damage controls were applied at the Ceyhan Botas Terminal. At the Yumurtalik Toros Terminal vessels were moved to the anchorage.

Inchcape Shipping Services has provided regular advisory notices  here:

https://www.iss-shipping.com/advisories/earthquake-in-turkey-port-update-4/

Illustration per www.imo.org

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