Imo Headquarters News

“Use your power to empower”. “Say what you’re thinking”. “Listen to the ‘yes’ voice in your head”. “Return every phone call every day”. “Believe in yourself”.This was the advice given by a wide variety of inspiring maritime women sharing their experiences of entering, working and leading in the maritime world at a special on "Women, ports and facilitation" at International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters, London (10 April).The speakers presented on, and answered questions about, their work and the future for women in the field – identifying a series of key issues and recommendations.

A successful International Maritime Organization (IMO) project promoted by Norway to establish a maritime "single window" in Antigua and Barbuda has been completed – and the source code for the system will now be made available to other countries who need it.A maritime single window enables all information required by public authorities in connection with the arrival, stay and departure of ships, people and cargo, to be submitted electronically via a single portal, without duplication.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) treaty enhancing communication between ships and ports to help shipments move more quickly, more easily and more efficiently has been ratified by Malaysia.According to the UN body, this brings the number of contracting States to the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention) to 123.Captain Haji Samad, Alternate Permanent Representative of Malaysia to IMO, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters…

Georgia is the 112th State to accede to the International Convention on Load Lines (1988 Protocol), announced  International Maritime Organization (IMO).According to the UN body, limitations on the draught to which a ship may be loaded are included in the treaty, making a significant contribution to the ship's safety. These limits are given in the form of freeboards.The treaty takes into account the potential hazards present in different ocean zones and different seasons, it said.The 1988 Protocol updates and revises the earlier treaty.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s treaty for safe and environmentally-sound ship recycling has received another boost. Japan has become the 10th country to become a Party to the Hong Kong Convention.According to the UN body, the Convention covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance of ships, and preparation for ship recycling in order to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling, without compromising the safety and operational efficiency of ships.Under the treaty, ships are required to carry an Inventory of Hazardous Materials, specific to each ship.

International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body, announced that a major five-year project to help protect marine biodiversity has been kick-started at a global workshop at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom (18-20 March).The IMO-executed GloFouling Partnerships project will address bioinvasions by organisms which can build up on ships’ hulls and other marine structures. The project is a collaboration between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IMO.Representatives from 12 lead partnering countries…

The Panama Canal Authority and A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S are the latest entities to join the International Maritime Organization (IMO)-supported Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA).According to the UN body, the GIA now has 18 members, including leading shipowners and operators, classification societies, engine and technology builders and suppliers, big data providers, oil companies and ports.The new members signed up to the GIA during the fifth meeting of the GIA Taskforce at IMO Headquarters in London…

The barriers and incentives relating to the uptake of alternative fuels in the shipping industry were in the spotlight at a roundtable meeting of International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Global Industry Alliance (GIA) to Support Low Carbon Shipping at IMO Headquarters, London.Experts from across the maritime industry were brought together to discuss successful incentives in other transport sectors and how they might be applied to shipping and ports, said a press note from the UN body.The group discussed economic…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the latest State to accede to the International Maritime Organization (IMO)instrument providing rules for the prevention of air pollution from ships and energy efficiency requirements.This brings the total number of ratifications of MARPOL Annex VI to 93, representing 96.6% of world merchant shipping tonnage, said the UN body in a release.MARPOL Annex VI limits the main air pollutants contained in ships exhaust gas, including sulphur oxides and nitrous oxides, and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s treaty for safe and environmentally-sound ship recycling has received another boost.The Netherlands has become the eighth country to become a Party to the Hong Kong Convention, said the UN body.The Hong Kong Convention) is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives, do not pose any unnecessary risk to human health and safety or to the environment.The Convention covers the design…

Guyana has signed up to a host of International Maritime Organization (IMO) treaties supporting safe, secure and clean international shipping.According to the UN body, the treaties cover a wide variety of topics including marine pollution, dumping waste at sea and responding to pollution incidents involving hazardous and noxious substances.Guyana ratified two key IMO measures designed to preserve bio-diversity – the Ballast Water Management Convention and another on use of harmful…

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) meets this week (18-22 February) at IMO headquarters.According to the UN body, the meeting will focus on finalizing draft Guidelines on consistent implementation of the 0.50% sulphur limit under MARPOL Annex VI. The aim of the Guidelines is to assist in the preparations for and uniform implementation of the lower limit for sulphur content in ships’ fuel oil, which will take effect…

Costa Rica is the latest country to ratify the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention).The International Maritime Organization (IMO) treaty enhances communication between ships and ports to help shipments move more quickly, more easily and more efficiently.Rafael Ortiz Fábrega, Ambassador of Costa Rica, met IMO Secretary-General at IMO Headquarters, London (12 February) to deposit the instrument of accession.FAL matters because, if it goes smoothly, shipments move more quickly, more easily and more efficiently.

Eastern European country Ukraine has acceded to an important International Maritime Organization (IMO) ship safety treaty – the 1988 Protocol relating to the International Convention on Load Lines.Limitations on the draught to which a ship may be loaded make a significant contribution to the ship's safety, said a press release from IMO.These limits are given in the form of freeboards, which constitute, besides external weathertight and watertight integrity, the main objective of the Convention.

Anne, Princess Royal, visited International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters in London (5 December).The Princess Royal was received by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and addressed the 100th session of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and took a keen interest in the proceedings, as the Committee discussed measures to enhance maritime security and piracy and armed robbery against ships.The Princess Royal, who is Master of Trinity House and President of the Mission to Seafarers, then met delegates from a number of Member States and non-governmental organizations. Photos here.

The international shipping community has made little progress to advance the global  commitment made earlier this year to reduce the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions."This is despite impassioned pleas for action by climate scientists to the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) environment committee last month," said Transport & Environment (T&E).The leading NGO campaigning for cleaner transport in Europe said that some IMO delegates soon ‘would not have a country to land…

International search and rescue plans are crucial, so that, no matter where an accident occurs, the rescue of persons in distress at sea can be coordinated successfully.The worldwide ratification and implementation of International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention) is a key component in efforts to ensure the safety of international shipping.Costa Rica is the 112th State to accede to the treaty, whose signatories now represent more than 80% of world merchant shipping tonnage.Rafael Ortiz Fábrega, Ambassador of Costa Rica to the United Kingdom, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters…

Reducing the amount of time ships spend waiting outside port and at anchor could significantly reduce ship emissions, according to studies carried out by members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) GloMEEP Global Industry Alliance (GIA).Ships can spend hours or days waiting at anchor outside ports, but providing ships with regular updates about the availability of berths, especially in the last twelve hours prior to port arrival, can support significant reductions…

The  International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim has highlighted the need to consider seafarer training and standards as shipping evolves, with increasing levels of technology and automation.Speaking at IMO Headquarters (15 January) at the launch of a new report “Transport 2040: Automation, Technology and Employment - the Future of Work”, Secretary-General Lim set out key questions that will require focus from all stakeholders:  “How will the seafarer…

Oman has become the 16th signatory to the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct – the instrument developed and adopted by countries in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden that has been a key factor in repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships operating in that region.Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen…

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s  Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA) brought together a wide range of industry stakeholders to discuss how to operationally make “Just-In-Time” (JIT) a global reality.Convening at IMO Headquarters in London (31 January), representatives from shipping companies, port authorities, terminal operators, service providers (including ship agents, bunker providers and tug operators) and other maritime organizations…

Technological innovation and the global introduction of alternative fuels and/or energy sources for international shipping will be integral to achieving the overall ambition in the Initial International Maritime Organization (IMO)  Strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships.A press note from the UN agency said that a meeting of the IMO Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA) Task Force at IMO Headquarters in London (27 November) held a lively debate…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) maritime security and counter-terrorism treaties are key international instruments supporting countries to counter terrorism.The UN body said that to boost implementation of these treaties in South and South-East Asia, IMO and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducted a cross-regional workshop in Bali, Indonesia (5-8-February).The workshop was addressing the need to ratify the relevant international counter-terrorism…