IMO is in attendance at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Assembly meeting in Kingston, Jamaica (21-22 July), at which future collaboration between the two organizations is on the agenda.
The Assembly approved the proposed IMO/ISA Agreement of Cooperation, which details how the two organizations could cooperate across a number of areas, particularly offshore exploration and exploitation activities and the impact of these activities on the safety of navigation and the marine environment. The IMO Council approved the agreement in July, pending endorsement by the IMO Assembly later this year.
Also under discussion is the contribution by the Office for the London Convention/Protocol and Ocean Affairs, administered by IMO, to ISA’s Draft Framework for the Regulation of Exploitation Activities relating to seabed mining. Andrea Garcia, IMO External Relations Office, is representing IMO at the meeting.