Whats New 2015
South Africa completes MARPOL accession
South Africa today (17 September) completed its accession to all the annexes of IMO’s main pollution prevention treaty MARPOL, by becoming a Party to both Annex IV, concerning the discharge of sewage into the sea, and Annex VI, which addresses energy efficiency and air pollution from ships. H.E. Mr. Obed Thembinkosi Mlaba, High Commissioner of South Africa and Permanent Representative to IMO, deposited the instruments of accession.
Finland visits
H.E. Mrs Päivi Luostarinen, the new Ambassador of Finland to the United Kingdom, has been appointed Finland’s Permanent Representative to IMO. Mrs Luostarinen presented her credentials to IMO Secretary-General Sekimizu at IMO Headquarters today (17 September). Finland has been a Member of IMO since 1959.
Reinforcing anti-fouling implementation
A national workshop aimed at boosting port State control and flag State implementation of the Anti-Fouling Convention is being held in Egypt (16-17 September). The workshop aims to raise awareness of the implications of implementing and enforcing the convention. more...
Mauritius visits
H.E. Mr Girish Nunkoo, High Commissioner for the Republic of Mauritius to the United Kingdom and Permanent Representative of Mauritius to IMO, paid a courtesy call to IMO Headquarters today (16 September) and presented his letter of credentials to IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu. Mauritius has been a Member of IMO since 1978.
Biofouling alert
A regional workshop on the management of biofouling is being held in Egypt (14-16 September). The workshop, which also aims to raise awareness of the biofouling guidelines, is organized in cooperation with The Regional Organization of the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, (PERSGA). Around 23 participants are attending the workshop from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Djibouti and the Sudan. IMO’s Markus Helavuori is representing IMO at the event.
Communication skills put to the test
A two-day bilateral exercise between the Congo and Gabon to test the lines of communication in case of a trans-boundary oil spill incident is concluding in Pointe-Noire, the Congo and Libreville, Gabon (14-15 September). The exercise, which was conducted in real-time with a prearranged script, simulated an oil spill incident impacting the Gabonese and Congolese coastlines.
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Customs cooperation
This week (14-18 September) sees IMO at the World Customs Organization's (WCO) headquarters in Brussels for a meeting of the WCO Data Model Project Team. This follows agreement by IMO's Facilitation Committee that WCO and IMO should cooperate on the technical maintenance of the "IMO Compendium of Facilitation and Electronic Business". The outcome of this work will be presented to the next session of the Committee, in April 2016. Alper Keceli is representing IMO.
Meeting on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers opens
The Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC), opened its 2nd session today (14 to 18 September) at IMO Headquarters. more...
Maritime single window for logistics
A revised IMO Facilitation Convention is set to be adopted in 2016, to include a new standard relating to the establishment of systems to exchange arrival and departure information electronically. An IMO project is underway to develop a so-called “single window” for such exchanges, and it was presented at the first Logistics Information Standardization Forum by IMO’s Julian Abril. more...