Ad Hoc Expert Working Group News

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim has welcomed the entry into force today (18 January) of new obligations under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) which require shipowners to have compulsory insurance to cover abandonment of seafarers, as well as claims for death or long-term disability of seafarers. The 2014 amendments to the MLC 2006, which comes under the auspices of the International Labour Organization (ILO), are based on guidelines which were developed by a joint IMO/ILO working group, which reported to both IMO's Legal Committee and ILO's governing bodies. "These amendments, which will provide better protection for seafarers and their families…

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meets for its 68th session from May 11-15, 2015, at IMO Headquarters in London. Items on the agenda include the proposed adoption of the environmental part of the Polar Code and associated draft MARPOL amendments to make the Code mandatory; the implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention; further work on air pollution and energy efficiency measures; and a proposal to extend the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) to parts of the Coral Sea.

IMO will consider proposed amendments to expand the scope and effectiveness of regulations concerning the prosecution and extradition of those engaged in the perpetration of unlawful acts at sea during the 85th session of the Organization's Legal Committee (IMO Headquarters, London, October 22 - 24 ). The Committee will review the text of draft proposed amendments to the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA Convention) and its related Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, 1988. In particular, the proposed amendments…