Ivan Abashidze appointed Head of Georgia’s Maritime Transport Agency

Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Kvrivishvili has appointed Ivan Abashidze as the new Director of the Maritime Transport Agency, a legal entity under public law. Prior to his appointment, Abashidze served as Deputy General Director of Columbia Shipmanagement Georgia LLC since 2023.

"The maritime sector is one of the key industries for our country and plays a significant role in the development of the overall economy. Therefore, it is essential that the agency is led by Ivan Abashidze — an experienced and conscientious professional in the field,” Kvrivishvili said. “We have ambitious plans for the sector, and the agency will have a crucial role in their implementation. I am confident that under Ivan’s leadership, we will achieve success together."

Deputy Minister of Economy Guram Guramishvili also attended the presentation of the new agency head.

Abashidze has spent his entire career in the maritime sector. Between 2011 and 2023, he held several positions at the Maritime Transport Agency, including Head of the Legal and International Relations Department (2014–2018) and Deputy Director (2018–2023). He was also Georgia’s national coordinator for the GloMEEP project (2015–2020) and co-founder and organizer of the International Maritime Forum of Georgia (2016–2023).

Abashidze has held various international roles, including Vice-Chair of the Advisory Committee of the International Mobile Satellite Organization (2018–2020, London). At the International Maritime Organization (IMO), he served as Chair of the Working Group on Liability and Compensation (2023) and as Vice-Chair of the IMO Legal Committee (2021–2024).

He holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and a master’s degree in international maritime law from the IMO International Maritime Law Institute in Malta. Since 2024, he has been a doctoral candidate at TSU’s Institute of International Law.

In addition to his professional career, Abashidze has taught maritime and shipping law at the Batumi State Maritime Academy since 2015. He is also the author of several academic publications and books in the fields of maritime law, security, and international protection.

The Maritime Transport Agency is Georgia’s national maritime authority, responsible for ensuring the organizational and legal functioning of the maritime sector in line with both domestic and international standards. Its activities include managing the Georgian-flagged commercial fleet, overseeing port safety and security, coordinating marine pollution prevention efforts, and conducting maritime search and rescue operations in Georgia’s territorial waters.