United Nations General Assembly News

On December 8, 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed the 470th Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. The speech he delivered is often recognized as his effort to introduce “Atoms for Peace”, a program to move nuclear fission and technology away from weapons development and into clean energy.As a result of that effort and program, the NS Savannah was built and delivered as the first nuclear-powered merchant ship. She was built in the late 1950s at a cost of $46.9 million and launched on July 21, 1959.

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.

Despite transporting roughly 90% of the world’s cargo, the shipping industry has so far been underrepresented in the global decarbonization discussion. This rhetoric is however changing. For the first time in history, shipping was officially on the agenda at the UN climate change conference, COP26. Likewise, the recent United Nations General Assembly saw leaders from the U.S., Australia, India, and Japan place shipping at the top of a list of pledges, with plans to form a “Green…

The number of mariners stranded on ships at sea is steadily rising as the crew change crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic continues with no end in sight.Travel and transit restrictions in place due to COVID-19 have severely impacted seafarers, the number of crew members whose contracts have been extended by several months has continued to rise despite multiple pleas to governments to designate them as essential key workers and to facilitate their travel.According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO)…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim is urging governments to take swift action to resolve the crew change crisis that has left several hundred thousand seafarers stranded at sea and unable to be repatriated despite the expiry of their contracts.It is estimated that more than 300,000 mariners are stuck at sea, and a similar number of seafarers have been unable to join ships and relieve them due to restrictions imposed by several governments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic…

Japan will not join a U.S.-led security mission to protect merchant vessels passing through key Middle Eastern waterways, but will consider deploying its naval force independently, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday.Though the United States is Japan's most important ally, Tokyo has fostered economic ties with Iran, and Japanese firms had been major buyers of Iranian oil until U.S. sanctions forced them to find other suppliers.Citing unidentified government sources, the…

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Peter Thomson of Fiji as his Special Envoy for the Ocean, aiming at galvanizing concerted efforts to follow up on the outcomes of the United Nations Ocean Conference in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, maintaining the momentum for action to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Thomson will lead the United Nations advocacy and public outreach efforts inside and outside of the United Nations system, ensuring that the many positive outcomes of the Ocean Conference, including the close to 1,400 voluntary commitments, are fully analysed and implemented.

This week (5-9, June)  the United Nations General Assembly is holding a major conference in New York on the sustainability of the oceans and how the UN can best implement its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 14) concerning the protection of the oceans which was adopted at the UN Summit of world leaders held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. ICS will make the case that the shipping industry is undoubtedly a driver of ‘green growth’ given its impressive environmental performance. The UN Conference will provide an opportunity to present the progress which the shipping industry is making to play its part in reducing environmental impacts on the oceans, especially with regard to CO2, sulphur emissions and ballast water management.

A team from International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Marine Environment Division has won the best Portfolio Solution Award in the 8th International Waters Conference (IWC8) organized by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Negombo, Sri Lanka (9-13 May). The award was given for the project with the best strategy for scaling-up investments aimed at addressing global environmental issues facing international waters, including the oceans. International waters is one of the five thematic portfolios of GEF funding, with around 90 related projects being featured at IWC8 and some 300 currently underway worldwide. IMO's team presented the "Glo-X" partnerships model, embracing two separate projects - GloBallast and GloMEEP.

At the United Nations in New York, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is representing the interests of shipowners at the opening session of a UN Preparatory Committee starting work on a new legal instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The establishment of the new UN Preparatory Committee, under the auspices of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, follows the decision of the United Nations General Assembly, in 2015, that UNCLOS should be expanded to include a new legally binding instrument on the conservation of marine life in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This is particularly relevant to shipping because the new UN instrument could include area-based management tools such as Marine Protected Areas on the high seas.

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…

New York-based Coast Guard units are no strangers when it comes to assisting with large-scale events in the area, but for the first time in history, area crews put in a team effort alongside local New York and New Jersey authorities to safeguard a Super Bowl event. Having provided security for the United Nations General Assembly, Macy’s Fourth of July Firework display, Fleet Week and the NYC Marathon in previous years, the opportunity for the Coast Guard’s assets to assist with Super Bowl XLVIII was also a success. “We’re here to protect our citizens,” said Lt. Cmdr. Luis E.

Victor Mooney of Queens briefed H.E. Anatolio Ndong Mba, Ambassador for Equatorial Guinea to the United Nations on his upcoming 5,000-mile solo transatlantic row on Thursday. Afterwards, Mr. Mooney went into detail on his preferred rowing route and discussed the importance of having a formative support team. The Head of State, H.E. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea, is the principal sponsor for the Goree Challenge. The rower recently met his patron during the United Nations General Assembly in September and emphasized the importance of voluntary HIV testing. Mr.

The Coast Guard will enforce security zones on the East River during the United Nations General Assembly, periodically restricting vessel traffic in the upper harbor near the United Nations Headquarters, New York, starting at 7 a.m. Monday. The Coast Guard will be enforcing security zones, from Sept. 21-29, on the East River between East 35th Street and the Queensboro/59th Street Bridge. Zone 1: This zone is always in effect. No Vessels within 175 yards of Manhattan between East 35th Street and the Queensboro/59th Street Bridge in the West Channel of the East River.

A new United Nations convention on carriage contracts (“Rotterdam Rules”) will impact the liability of marine terminal operators when it comes into force, according to TT Club. The UNCITRAL “Draft convention on contracts for the international carriage of goods wholly or partly by sea”, now known as the Rotterdam Rules, has been submitted on 20 October 2008 to the International Legal Committee of the United Nations General Assembly. It is near certain that the Rotterdam Rules will be approved by the United Nations. However, a signing ceremony is scheduled for September 2009, and the Rotterdam Rules would enter into force one year after signature by the 20th United Nations Member State.