IMO - International Maritime Organization

IMO - International Maritime Organization has always been recognized that the best way of improving safety at sea is by developing international regulations that are followed by all shipping nations. Several countries proposed that a permanent international body should be established to promote maritime safety more effectively, but it was not until the establishment of the United Nations itself that these hopes were realized. In 1948 an international conference in Geneva adopted a convention formally establishing IMO (the original name was the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization, or IMCO, but the name was changed in 1982 to IMO). IMO's first task was to adopt a new version of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the most important of all treaties dealing with maritime safety. This was achieved in 1960 and IMO then turned its attention to such matters as the facilitation of international maritime traffic, load lines and the carriage of dangerous goods, while the system of measuring the tonnage of ships was revised. IMO was also given the task of establishing a system for providing compensation to those who had suffered financially as a result of pollution. Two treaties were adopted, in 1969 and 1971, which enabled victims of oil pollution to obtain compensation much more simply and quickly than had been possible before. Both treaties were amended in 1992, and again in 2000, to increase the limits of compensation payable to victims of pollution. In 2005, IMO adopted amendments to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts (SUA) Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, 1988 and its related Protocol (the 2005 SUA Protocols), which amongst other things, introduce the right of a a State Party desires to board a ship flying the flag of another State Party when the requesting Party has reasonable grounds to suspect that the ship or a person on board the ship is, has been, or is about to be involved in, the commission of an offence under the Convention.

A​​s a specialized agency of the United Nations, IMO is the global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented. In other words, its role is to create a level playing-field so that ship operators cannot address their financial issues by simply cutting corners and compromising on safety, security and environmental performance. This approach also encourages innovation and efficiency. The IMO headquarters are located in a large purpose-built building facing the River Thames on the Albert Embankment, in Lambeth, London. The organisation moved into its new headquarters in late 1982, with the building being officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 May 1983. The architects of the building were Douglass Marriott, Worby & Robinson. The front of the building is dominated by a seven-metre high, ten-tonne bronze sculpture of the bow of a ship, with a lone seafarer maintaining a look-out. The IMO consists of an Assembly, a Council and five main Committees: the Maritime Safety Committee; the Marine Environment Protection Committee; the Legal Committee; the Technical Co-operation Committee and the Facilitation Committee. A number of Sub-Committees support the work of the main technical committees. 

To become a member of the IMO, a state ratifies a multilateral treaty known as the Convention on the International Maritime Organization. As of December 2016, there are 172 member states of the IMO, which includes 171 of the UN member states plus the Cook Islands. The first state to ratify the convention was the United Kingdom in 1949. The most recent member to join was Belarus, which became an IMO member in November 2016. Recent initiatives at the IMO have included amendments to SOLAS, which upgraded fire protection standards on passenger ships, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) which establishes basic requirements on training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers and to the Convention on the Prevention of Maritime Pollution (MARPOL 73/78), which required double hulls on all tankers. The IMO has a role in tackling international climate change. The First Intersessional Meeting of IMO's Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships took place in Oslo, Norway (23–27 June 2008), tasked with developing the technical basis for the reduction mechanisms that may form part of a future IMO regime to control greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, and a draft of the actual reduction mechanisms themselves, for further consideration by IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).[14] The IMO participated in the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris seeking to establish itself as the "appropriate international body to address greenhouse gas emissions from ships engaged in international trade". The IMO is also responsible for publishing the International Code of Signals for use between merchant and naval vessels.

IMO has harmonised information available to seafarers and shore-side traffic services called e-Navigation. An e-Navigation strategy was ratified in 2005, and an implementation plan was developed through three IMO sub-committees. The plan was completed by 2014 and implemented in November of that year. Energy efficiency, new technology and innovation, maritime education and training, maritime security, maritime traffic management and the development of the maritime infrastructure: the development and implementation, through IMO, of global standards covering these and other issues will underpin IMO's commitment to provide the institutional framework necessary for a green and sustainable global maritime transportation system. IMO’s rules and standards are accepted by Governments and the global shipping industry because they provide a single, universal framework governing maritime operations and ensure the efficient, safe and environmentally friendly carriage of global trade. Many developing countries cannot yet give full and complete effect to IMO’s instruments. For this reason and, as mandated by the Convention that created IMO, the Organization has established an Integrated Technical Co-operation Programme (ITCP), with the sole purpose of assisting countries in building up their human and institutional capacities for uniform and effective compliance with the Organization’s regulatory framework. IMO’s technical co-operation activities are conceived and developed through partnerships for progress between recipient countries, resource-providers and the Organization.

The purposes of IMO are “to provide machinery for cooperation among Governments in the field of governmental regulation and practices relating to technical matters of all kinds affecting shipping engaged in international trade; to encourage and facilitate the general adoption of the highest practicable standards in   matters concerning maritime safety, efficiency of navigation and prevention and control of marine pollution from ships”. The Organization is also empowered to deal with administrative and legal matters related to these purposes. As of December 2016, there are 172 member states of the IMO, which includes 171 of the UN member states plus the Cook Islands. The first state to ratify the convention was the United Kingdom in 1949. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) number is a unique reference for ships and for registered ship owners and management companies. IMO numbers were introduced under the SOLAS Convention to improve maritime safety and security and to reduce maritime fraud. Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented.  The world relies on a safe, secure and efficient international shipping industry – and this is provided by the regulatory framework developed and maintained by IMO. The IMO facilitates cooperation among governments to achieve the highest practicable standards of maritime safety and security, and efficiency in navigation. It deals with legal matters connected with international shipping, including liability and compensation regimes, as well as with facilitation of international maritime traffic.  It is also responsible for providing technical assistance in maritime matters to developing countries. The IMO is responsible for convening international conferences on shipping matters and for drafting international conventions or agreements on this subject. The current emphasis is on ensuring relevant conventions and treaties are properly implemented by the countries that have accepted them. The 40-member Council is the IMO's executive organ. It is responsible, under the Assembly, for supervising the Organization's work Between Assembly sessions, the Council performs all the Assembly's functions except for making recommendations to governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention.  This function is reserved for the Assembly by article 15(j) of the Convention.

The IMO Council is also responsible for appointing its Secretary-General, subject to the approval of the Assembly. Council members are elected by the Assembly for two-year terms beginning after each regular session of the Assembly. Member States are elected from three categories:

• Category A: 10 states with the largest interest in providing international shipping services
• Category B: 10 other states with the largest interest in international seaborne trade
• Category C: 20 states not elected under either category (A) or (B) that have special interests in maritime transport or navigation, and whose election will ensure the representation of all major areas of the world.

All IMO committees are open to all member governments on an equal basis. The Marine Environment Protection Committee was set up in 1973 to coordinate and administer IMO activities for the prevention and control of marine pollution from ships. All members of the IMO are entitled to take part, as are representatives of non-IMO states that are parties to treaties linked to Committee work. The Committee was institutionalised in 1982.

The Maritime Safety Committee and the Marine Environment Protection Committee are assisted by nine sub-committees, which are open to all Member States.

The Legal Committee was setup in 1967 to consider any legal matters within the IMO's scope and submit to the Council its drafts of international conventions and other international treaty instruments.  It was institutionalised in 1982.  Subjects dealt with include liability and compensation regimes for damage caused at sea by hazardous and noxious substances, wreck removal and seafarer claims.

The Technical Cooperation Committee was set up in 1969 to establish directives and guidelines for the IMO's programme of assistance to developing countries in maritime transport (particularly shipping and ports), to monitor the programme's progressive development and review the results. It was institutionalised in 1984.

The Facilitation Committee, established in 1972, is responsible for facilitating international maritime traffic through reducing the formalities and simplifying documentation required of ships when entering or leaving ports or other terminals. It became formally institutionalised on 7 December 2008, with the entry into force of the 1991 amendments to the IMO Convention.

The IMO also acts as a secretariat in respect of the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, adopted in London in 1972, which regulates the disposal into the sea of waste materials generated on land.  Consultative meetings are normally held once a year. A Protocol amending the Convention was adopted in 1996 and entered into force on 24 March 2006.  Thirty-seven states have now acceded to the Protocol, which is expected ultimately to replace the Convention.

The IMO has 169 members and three associate members. The Council has 40 members. The following  list of all members shows their membership terms on the Council, which expire at the end of Assembly meetings.

 

African states

Algeria

Angola

Benin

Cameroon

Cape Verde

Comoros

Congo

Cote d'Ivoire

DR Congo

Djibouti

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Gabon

Gambia

Ghana

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Kenya

Liberia

Libyan AJ

Madagascar

Malawi

Mauritania

Mauritius

Morocco

Mozambique

Namibia

Nigeria

Sao Tome and Principe

Senegal

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Somalia

South Africa

Sudan

Togo

Tunisia

UR of Tanzania

Zimbabwe

 

Asian states

Babrain

Bangladesh

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

China

Cyprus

DPRK

Fiji

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Malaysia

Maldives

Marshall Islands

Mongolia

Myanmar

Nepal

Oman

Pakistan

Papua New Guinea

Philippines

Qatar

ROK

Samoa

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Solomon Islands

Sri Lanka

Syrian AR

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Tonga

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

UAE

Vanuatu

Viet Nam

Yemen

 

Eastern European states

Albania

Azerbaijan

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Estonia

Georgia

Hungary

Latvia

Lithuania

Montenegro

Poland

Republic of Moldova

Romania

Russian Federation

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Ukraine

 

Latin American and Caribbean states

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Bahamas

Barbados

Belize

Bolivia

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Cuba

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

Grenada

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Jamaica

Mexicol

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Suriname

Trinidad and Tobago

Uruguay

Venezuela

 

Western European and other states

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Canada

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Iceland

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Luxembourg

Malta

Monaco

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Portugal

San Marino

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

UK

 

Members outside of UN General Assembly regional groupings

Cook Islands

Kiribati

USA

 

Associate IMO members

Faroe Islands, Denmark

Hong Kong, China

Macau, China