New international regulations for flag states well underway says Denmark after latest meeting of the IMO's FSI sub-committee
Together with a number of other countries, Denmark is striving to make it mandatory for member states to undergo the so-called 'IMO sudit'.
The audit would ensure that countries implement the obligations following from the international conventions on maritime safety and protection of the marine environment. Until now, the IMO has had a voluntary system. At the meeting, important steps were taken towards making such an audit mandatory so that it would apply to all countries from 2015.
At the meeting, work was also being done on new regulations for classification societies, new guidelines for port State control and accident investigation as well as guidelines for how new regulations on marine equipment must apply to ships under construction.
A summary of the meeting's proceedings, provided by the Danish Maritime Authority is available here.