The race for the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) top job has begun with six candidates jostling for the influential position of secretary general of the UN’s specialised shipping agency.

Ambassador Suat Hayri Aka will compete in the IMO secretary general elections as Türkiye's candidate.

After Bangladesh's candidate Moin Uddin Ahmed announced his withdrawal from the elections, six candidate will be running for the post.

The candidates include, Panama's Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco, Dominican Republic's Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Kenya's Nancy Karigithu, Finland's Minna Kivimaki, and China's Zhang Xiaojie.

Aka, a seasoned captain himself, has a lot of experience in the private sector, as a CEO of shipping companies and as an academic, giving lectures on maritime affairs.

Türkiye’s Suat Hayri Aka has also served as an undersecretary in the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

The race for the IMO’s top job is a crucial one, with the future of the organisation and the maritime industry at stake.

Whoever is elected as the next secretary-general of the IMO will have the daunting task of leading the organisation towards a more sustainable, efficient, and transparent future.

The new secretary-general will take the office on January 1, 2024.