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Koji Sekimizu News

25 Jun 2019

IMO Firm On Treaties

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…

09 Apr 2019

WMU, MPA Sign MoU

The World Maritime University (WMU) signed an enhanced Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), to cooperate on global maritime leadership training and capacity building for the international maritime community. The enhanced MoU was signed by Ms. Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive, MPA, and Dr. Doumbia-Henry, President of WMU.The agreement provides for cooperation between the two partners on the education of maritime leaders, leadership development programmes, as well as exchange of faculty members.Under the agreement, MPA Academy will continue to host week-long field studies in Singapore…

03 Dec 2018

Birgit Sølling Olsen to Receive International Maritime Prize

Former Deputy Director-General of the Danish Maritime Authority, Ms. Birgit Sølling Olsen, will receive IMO’s International Maritime Prize for 2017 on Thursday, 6 December. The award ceremony can be streamed live on IMO's website.A press note from Danish Maritime Authority said that the ceremony takes place in conjunction with the meeting of the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee.Director-General of the Danish Maritime Authority, Andreas Nordseth, said:  â€śWe are all very proud of her. Birgit is highly respected by colleagues and stakeholders, from all over the world, for her professional expertise within the maritime field, and for her determination to find sustainable solutions that can gain broad support.”Birgit Sølling Olsen was nominated by the Government of Denmark…

28 Nov 2017

International Maritime Prize for 2016 Presented to Koji Sekimizu

The prestigious International Maritime Prize for 2016 has been presented to Mr. Koji Sekimizu, former Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), for his contribution to the work of IMO over many years. IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim presented the prize on Monday (27 November) at the IMO awards ceremony. “Mr. Sekimizu has dedicated his career and his lifetime to promoting safety of life at sea and protecting the marine and atmospheric environment. He is truly deserving of the International Maritime Prize,” Mr. Lim said. The IMO Council unanimously decided in July to award the Prize to Mr. Sekimizu, IMO Secretary-General Emeritus…

02 Aug 2017

IMO to Honor Former Secretary-General Sekimizu

Koji Sekimizu (Photo: IMO)

The International Maritime Prize for 2016 will be awarded to former Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Koji Sekimizu for his contribution to the work of IMO over many years. The Council unanimously decided to award the Prize to Sekimizu, IMO Secretary-General Emeritus, in recognition of his invaluable contribution to the work and objectives of the organization and the international maritime community as a whole. Sekimizu held a long and distinguished career with the organization, culminating in his four-year stewardship as Secretary-General from 2012 to 2016.

03 May 2017

What’s Next for Ballast Water Management?

Latest developments on the entry into force of the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention took centre stage at the 8th International Conference on Ballast Water Management (24-25 April) in Singapore. International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Emeritus, Koji Sekimizu, and Chief Technical Advisor of the GEF-UNDP-IMO GloBallast Partnerships Programme, Jose Matheickal, delivered keynote addresses at the event. Among other key issues, participants discussed the revised guidelines for the approval of Ballast Water Management Systems (G8), challenges facing Port State Control with regards to Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement (CME) and the timeline for installation of BWM systems.

20 Apr 2017

MPA Trains Global Maritime Leaders

The MPA Academy – the training arm of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) – in partnership with the Singapore Management University (SMU) and Human Capital Leadership Institute, has officially launched its 2nd Advanced Maritime Leaders’ Programme (AMLP). Taking place from 20 to 25 April 2017, the six-day programme will gather 19 senior maritime and port officials from all regions including, Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Oceania. The Advanced Maritime Leaders’ Programme (AMLP) focuses on leadership development and is uniquely designed for senior maritime officers heading maritime and port administrations in their respective countries.

24 Aug 2016

MPA Appoints Koji Sekimizu as Distinguished Visiting Fellow

The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) have appointed former Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Koji Sekimizu, as a RSIS-MPA Distinguished Visiting Fellow for a period of two years commencing on 1 May 2016. The fellowship was established by RSIS and MPA to engage eminent maritime personalities with specialised knowledge, expertise and international experience. Koji Sekimizu, a naval architect by training, began his career as a ship inspector with Japan’s Ministry of Transport and joined the IMO as Technical Officer in the Sub-Division for Technology, Maritime Safety Division in 1989.

23 May 2016

After Paris, A Move to Rein In Emissions by Ships

As the world moves to slash CO2 emissions, the shipping and aviation sectors have managed to remain on the sidelines. But the pressure is now on these two major polluting industries to start controlling their emissions at last - a report by Yale University. International aviation and shipping emissions were excluded from the Paris pact, which introduced limits on greenhouse gas emissions for all nations starting in 2020. With power generation, manufacturing, domestic transport, deforestation, and even changes in land use all now constrained, calls are growing for these two big sectors to be tamed as well. Aviation and shipping each emit roughly the same volume of CO2 annually as the U.K.

13 Jan 2016

New IMO Secretary-General Sets Out His Agenda

Kitack Lim of South Korea has issued a message outlining his priorities as incoming Secretary -General of the IMO a post he assumed on January 1 following endorsement of his mid-2015 election by member states at the IMO Assembly in November. His agenda includes promoting the implementation of conventions, building capacity in developing countries with a focus on small islands and enhancing IMO's global status. "My vision is one of strengthened partnerships – between developing and developed countries, between governments and industry, between IMO Member States and regions. I will also endeavour to strengthen communication between the maritime industry and the general public…

04 Jan 2016

Lim Ki-tack Will Take Office As IMO Chief Next Month

Lim Ki-Tack, who has been elected as the next secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in a ballot, will start his four-year term in the beginning of next year, the South Korean government said, reports Yonhap. Lim will replace Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu to become the 9th IMO secretary-general starting Jan. 1. With six candidates in the running  it took five rounds of voting before Lim was able to collect more than half the 40 votes from IMO Council members. His inauguration was approved unanimously by the IMO’s general assembly last month, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. “I will go through thorough organization analysis and assessment to make the IMO become a more transparent and efficient international agency,” Lim was quoted as saying.

24 Dec 2015

GloMEEP Energy Efficiency Project Gets Underway

The first national workshop under the Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships GloMEEP), Project, which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping, has been held in Georgia. Georgia is one of the Lead Pilot Countries for the project, which aims to build understanding and knowledge of technical and operational energy-efficiency measures to lead maritime transport into a low-carbon future. The national workshop in Batumi, Georgia (15-17 December), focused on raising awareness of Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), in particular the energy-efficiency regulations in chapter 4.

21 Dec 2015

BWM Convention Ratified by 47 Countries

Ballast Water Convention ratifications by Morocco, Indonesia and Ghana welcomed. Ratification of the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention by Morocco, Indonesia and Ghana during November 2015 has brought the convention ever closer to meeting the requirements for entry into force. Forty-seven countries have now ratified the convention, substantially more than the 30 required, but whether the requirement for Parties to hold 35% of the world’s tonnage has been met is still being calculated. The Convention will enter into force twelve months after the tonnage requirement has been met. Tonnage figures are derived from data supplied to the IMO Secretariat by IHS Maritime & Trade.

15 Dec 2015

Maritime Sector Split on Paris Climate Deal

International shipping groups remain divided over how to reduce carbon emissions after being left out of the climate-change pact reached over the weekend in Paris, reports WSJ. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), representing the global shipping industry, has welcomed the Paris climate change agreement, which was adopted unanimously on December 12 by 195 nations. ICS says that the global shipping industry remains committed to ambitious CO2 emission reduction across the entire world merchant fleet, reducing CO2 per tonne-km by at least 50 percent before 2050 compared to 2007. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has welcomed the historic achievement of the 2015 Paris Climate Change conference (COP21).

15 Dec 2015

Full Speed Ahead with Climate-Change Measures at IMO Following Paris Agreement

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has welcomed the historic achievement of the 2015 Paris Climate Change conference (COP21). IMO has contributed, and will continue to contribute, to global GHG reduction goals. IMO and its Member States recognise the important need for international shipping, which accounts for 2.2% of CO2 anthropogenic emissions, to support global efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu said, “The Paris Agreement represents remarkable progress and builds on the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, which itself was a significant step forward. To date, IMO is the only organization to have adopted energy-efficiency measures that are legally binding across an entire global industry and apply to all countries.

14 Dec 2015

IACS Council Establishes Cyber Panel

The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) has created a Cyber Panel to lend support and resources to address what has become a key industry issue. IACS panels represent the top tier of the Association's issue-specific bodies, so establishing a Cyber Safety panel raises the significance of this concern to that of IACS' traditional focus areas of Safety, Environment, Hull, Machinery and Survey. Upgrading the existing Expert Group on Cyber Systems to a full Panel significantly enhances the organization's ability to address Cyber Safety concerns and support the protection of human life, property and the marine environment. Two Joint Working Groups (JWGs) also were established at the meeting.

03 Dec 2015

IMO Sets Guidelines for 2016-17

The IMO has just closed its Assembly meeting in London, which is held every second year. A number of important items were on the agenda, including the IMO work programme and budget for the 2016-17 biennium as well as the Organization's work on safety and the environment since the recent Assembly meeting. More or less all 171 member States and a number of interest organisations participated in the Assembly meeting. Especially three agenda items were of special Danish interest. The Assembly adopted a resolution on better regulation which sets the overall frame for how to formulate regulation so as to reduce any administrative difficulties.

28 Sep 2015

IMO Launches Low-carbon Project: GloMEEP

Representatives from IMO, the lead pilot countries and Singapore at the GloMEEP launch (Photo: IMO)

The Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships Project (GloMEEP), which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping, was formally launched on Monday, September 28, in Singapore, at the IMO-Singapore Future-Ready Shipping 2015 conference. This Global Environment Facility (GEF)/United Nations Development Program (UNDP)/IMO project, formally designated “Transforming the Global Maritime Transport Industry towards a Low Carbon Future through Improved Energy Efficiency”…

29 Sep 2015

IMO Only Place for Global Debate on Shipping CO2

As world leaders prepare for key negotiations on climate change in Bonn and Paris later this year, IMO Secretary General Koji Sekimizu has issued a strong call for any discussion on shipping’s contribution to global CO2 emissions to be held at IMO. IMO is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for regulating the safety and environmental performance of international shipping. In a statement issued during a conference in Singapore, Sekimizu reiterated his view that IMO is the only place where the debate over shipping and climate change should be taken forward, given the huge impact the industry has on the global economy and its unique international structure.

15 Oct 2015

IMO Welcomes UN Resolution on Migrant Smuggling

IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu has welcomed the adoption by the United Nations Security Council of a UN Security Council resolution which authorizes Member States to intercept vessels suspected of migrant smuggling off the Libyan coast. “I welcome the United Nations Security Council’s clear affirmation of the necessity to put an end to the recent proliferation of, and endangerment of lives by, the smuggling of migrants and trafficking of persons in the Mediterranean Sea and the strong measures advocated to address these criminal activities,” Mr. Sekimizu said. UN Security Council Resolution 2240 (2015), adopted on 9 October, authorizes Member States…

13 Nov 2015

Stakeholders Broaden Maritime Security Scope

Image: IMO

An international agreement that has been instrumental in repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden is set to significantly broaden its scope. Signatories to the Djibouti Code of Conduct have agreed to work toward extending its remit to address other illicit maritime activity that threatens safety and security in the region, such as marine terrorism, environmental crimes, human trafficking and Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

24 Nov 2015

Morocco, Indonesia Ratify BWM Convention

H.H. Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui handed over Morocco’s instrument of ratification to IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu (Photo: IMO)

Morocco and Indonesia have become the latest nations to ratify the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, an international measure adopted in 2004 for environmental protection that requires ships to have procedures in place for ballast water management in order to help prevent the spread of harmful and invasive aquatic species. In all, the total number of ratifications now stands at 45 states. Morocco Transport Minister Abdelaziz Rebbah and H.H. Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui handed over Morocco’s instrument of ratification to IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu Monday…

25 Nov 2015

Nippon Foundation’s Sasakawa receives International Maritime Prize

Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, has received the 2014 International Maritime Prize for his contribution to the work of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) over many years and, in particular, his personal commitment to supporting the development of future maritime leaders and his contribution to the enhancement of safety and security in vital shipping lanes. In a ceremony on 23 November, following the first day of the 29th session of the IMO Assembly, IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu presented the award, in the form of a silver dolphin, to Mr. Sasakawa. Sekimizu highlighted  Sasakawa’s long-standing dedication to maritime education and training through the initiatives of the Nippon Foundation and its unstinting support to the World Maritime University (WMU)…