Cooperation Committee News

The outgoing Director of the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), Professor David Joseph Attard, has been selected by the IMO Council to be the recipient of the International Maritime Prize for 2021. Professor Attard was nominated for the award by the Republic of Malta. In the nomination, the impact that Professor Attard has had on the maritime world, particularly via his three-decade-long role at IMLI was highlighted. The Maltese national was responsible for proposing, in 1987, together with the late Dr.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council, meeting from November 8-12, established an International Day for Women in Maritime, to be observed on May 18 every year.Once adopted by the IMO Assembly in December 2021, the observance will celebrate women in the industry, promote the recruitment, retention and sustained employment of women in the maritime sector, raise the profile of women in maritime, strengthen IMO's commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality) and support work to address the current gender imbalance in maritime.IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said…

IMO's Technical Cooperation Committee at its 71st session (TC 71) (20-24 September) has approved the establishment of an IMO Regional Presence Office (RPO) for the Pacific Islands region. If approved at the thirty-fourth extraordinary session of the Council (08 - 12 November 2021), this will see the Pacific Region become the sixth to feature an IMO RPO.The existing RPOs are: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire for west and central Africa (Francophone); Accra, Ghana for west and central Africa (Anglophone)…

Iran and Syria have signed an agreement on mutual maritime cooperation during  the sixth round of joint maritime committee meeting on the maritime and port cooperation.The Managing Director of Iran's Maritime and Port Organization (PMO) Mohammad Rastad, and the Syrian Deputy Minister of Maritime Transportation Mohammad Ammar Kamal Al-Din, signed the agreement.The agreement has emphasized the expansion of maritime cooperation, as well as maritime education and training together with increasing maritime transportation through the shipping lines of both countries.The memorandum also emphasized the increase in maritime transport through the shipping lines of the two countries…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced that it is committed to ensuring the implementation of all its treaties.By carefully matching the needs of recipient countries with resources available from donors, the Organization's technical cooperation program is the essential component in helping all governments to fulfill their responsibilities, the UN body said.With a strong focus on capacity building and training, the technical cooperation program makes a strong and continuing contribution to sustainable development. IMO's Technical Cooperation Committee (TC 69) is meeting (25-27 June) to review activities carried out in 2018…

The first regional donor/recipient workshop on maritime Technical Cooperation activities held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea (26-30 November). The workshop built on the long-term resource mobilization strategy for International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Technical Cooperation activities, approved at the sixty-eighth session of the IMO Technical Cooperation Committee (TCC).According to a release from IMO, this strategy identified a more proactive and methodical approach with regard to generating new resources by encouraging the development of partnerships with Member States, the United Nations system and multilateral development banks…

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s comprehensive technical cooperation programme supports Member States to implement IMO treaties effectively.    This is one way in which IMO supports the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.    The Technical Cooperation Committee, which is meeting for its 68th session (18-20 June), will be updated on key IMO capacity-building programmes, including the women in maritime programme and assistance to Member States to develop National Maritime Transport Policies.    The question of resource mobilization will also be addressed. IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim opened the 68th session, which is being chaired by Mr. Zulkurnain Ayub (Malaysia).

In pursuance of India’s ‘Act East Policy’, Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri, Shivalik, Jyoti and Kamorta under the command of Rear Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, YSM, VSM, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet are on an overseas deployment to the South East Asia and Southern Indian Ocean. Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri and Kamorta are on a port visit to Jakarta from May 26 to May 30, 2017 and to Surabaya from June 01 to June 05. The visit of the Indian Naval Ships seeks to underscore India’s peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly and harmonious countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and to strengthen existing bonds between India and Indonesia. The two countries share a rich history with deep civilisational links between the two countries.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is participating in the annual gathering of Asia Pacific Heads of Maritime Safety Agencies (APHoMSA) in Langkawi, Malaysia (20-24 March). Participants from 24 IMO Member States as well as observers from IALA, IHO and SPC are taking part in discussions surrounding APHoMSA's work to promote safe, secure shipping and a clean marine environment within the Asia-Pacific region. The event coincides with the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2017 week, which brings together senior maritime officials from Pacific Ocean Rim countries and territories to exchange ideas and identify areas of cooperation.

Twenty-one African International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member States are taking part in the three day Malaysia Maritime Leaders Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (15-17 March 2017), aimed at assisting the participating countries to build leadership capabilities in the maritime sector. The forum is encouraging senior officials of Maritime Administrations to find areas of common ground by sharing ideas on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their administrations and addressing maritime challenges. The event is the first of its kind in Malaysia and part of the Malaysian Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme. The event was opened by Mr Saripuddin bin Kassim, Secretary-General of the Malaysian Ministry of Transport.

The IMRF, the charity supporting maritime SAR service globally, and McMurdo, a company in search and rescue and maritime domain awareness solutions, announced a partnership aiming at several key search and rescue (SAR) initiatives to be launched at next week’s World Maritime Rescue Congress in Bremerhaven, Germany. Working together the IMRF and McMurdo will target some of the key challenges facing maritime SAR globally including rescue team training, the safety of artisanal fishermen and the emerging requirements of SAR services managing the unsafe mixed migration by sea.

Figures released by the Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee (GSCC) show that Liberia has further strengthened its position as the undisputed leading open registry of choice for Greek shipowners and operators. The GSCC statistics show that, in the year to end-March 2015, the number of Greek-controlled ships in the Liberian Registry increased by a net total of 61 vessels, more than any other registry in the world. In the process, the Liberian Registry moved closer to the Greek flag, which recorded a net total of 20 new registrations in the 12-month period.

Ship Registries are an excellent bellwether of industry health and trends, and when Maritime Reporter & Engineering News sought answers to some topical questions, it went to two of the top organizations in the world, speicifically Theo Xenakoudis, Worldwide Business Operations Officer, International Registries, Inc. & Christian Mollitor, Vice-President, Liberian Registry/LISCR, LLC. Give a brief description of the market you serve. TX Greek shipowners have historically been very supportive of the RMI flag. Today Greek shipowners represent nearly 25 million gross tons of the RMI fleet.

The Liberian Registry says the entry of private equity funding into the ship finance market is helping to sustain its continued growth. Scott Bergeron, CEO of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), the U.S.-based manager of the Liberian registry, said, “Owners are ordering ships again, and there is a great deal of private equity funding entering the market, in the U.S. and elsewhere, which is filling the shortfall created by a reduction in traditional bank finance for shipping.

Prominent Greek shipowner John Adamantios Hadjipateras, chairman of the London-based Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee for the past 18 years, died of heart failure at an Athens hospital Sept. 17 at the age of 73. Hadjipateras had been in Greece to attend the twice-yearly meeting between directors of the committee and the Union of Greek Shipowners. The meeting was to be held on Sept. 21 but has been cancelled. Hadjipateras managed Hadjipateras Maritime Ltd and Pateras Shipbrokers in London. He was also the Union of Greek Shipowners representative at the International Shipping Federation since 1958, serving as vice-chairman in 1978.

INTERTANKO’s Hellenic Forum last week elected its new Chairman and governing team. Emmanuel Vordonis of Thenamaris Ships Management will be the next Chairman, succeeding Ceres Hellenic’s Nicholas G. Fistes who held the position for three years, and is the Hellenic Forum’s third Chairman. Nick Fistes will remain as a Vice Chairman alongside Costis Kertsikoff of Eletson Corporation and Spyros Polemis of Seacrest Shipping. They will work together with the Steering Committee and the members of the Forum to stimulate constructive thinking and generate new ideas out of the hands-on international experience of the Greek shipping community.

The Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee (GSCC) has confirmed that Liberia is the leading independent ship register of choice for Greek-controlled shipping companies, second only to the Greek flag itself. Figures just released by the GSCC show that, in the year ended March 31, 2012, Liberia experienced a net increase of 38 Greek-controlled ships, aggregating 4.63m dwt – comfortably more than twice the number of vessels secured by any other ship registry. In the same twelve-month period, Panama and Cyprus, respectively, lost 33 and 25 Greek-controlled ships. In deadweight terms, seventeen per cent of Greek-controlled ships are now registered with Liberia, compared to 22 per cent flying the Greek flag.

Spyros M. Polemis, an international business leader who has spent more than 45 years in the shipping industry, has been elected to serve on the Stevens Institute of Technology Board of Trustees. Mr. Polemis was named to the board during its spring meeting, May 20-21, 2009. Polemis is a Class of 1961 graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology, where he served as president of Pi Lambda Phi and belonged to the Interfraternity Council and the Yacht Club. Polemis' family has roots in shipping that date back several centuries. He is chairman and managing director of Seacrest Shipping Co.

On September 25, 2007, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg will hear oral arguments in the case brought by INTERTANKO and the industry coalition to examine the validity of the European Union (EU) Ship Source Pollution Directive. Members will recall that the case brought against the U.K.'s Secretary of State for Transport had originated in the Administrative Court of the English High Court. Judgment was granted in favour of the industry coalition in July 2006. The High Court had directed that the case be transferred to the ECJ as that Court has the sole power to rule on the validity of a piece of EU legislation. The Directive, which seeks to criminalise accidental pollution, has proved to be controversial from both the legal and practical standpoints.