Whats New 2015
A degree of success for students
The prestigious annual graduation
ceremony for students at the World Maritime University (WMU) took place
on Sunday (1 November) in Malmö, Sweden, when WMU Chancellor and IMO
Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu conferred postgraduate degrees on the
class of 2015. In total, there are 202 graduates in the class of 2015,
including the M.Sc programmes in Malmö, and Dalian and Shanghai, China,
as well as the distance-learning Postgraduate Diploma graduates.
Overall, the 2015 graduates represent over 40 countries. In his graduation message, Mr Sekimizu urged the students to continue to support the ideals and objectives of IMO. more...
ceremony for students at the World Maritime University (WMU) took place
on Sunday (1 November) in Malmö, Sweden, when WMU Chancellor and IMO
Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu conferred postgraduate degrees on the
class of 2015. In total, there are 202 graduates in the class of 2015,
including the M.Sc programmes in Malmö, and Dalian and Shanghai, China,
as well as the distance-learning Postgraduate Diploma graduates.
Overall, the 2015 graduates represent over 40 countries. In his graduation message, Mr Sekimizu urged the students to continue to support the ideals and objectives of IMO. more...
Goal-based standards in focus
A one-day workshop focusing on the goal-based standards safety level approach has been held in Hamburg, Germany (30 October). Expert participants from Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden exchanged views on a draft proposal for functional requirements for SOLAS chapter III on life-saving appliances and arrangements. IMO’s Bingbing Song attended the workshop as an observer.
Addressing the safety of ships on non-international voyages
A two-day (27-29 October) regional seminar on the enhancement of safety of ships carrying passengers on non-international voyages concluded today in Penang, Malaysia. The seminar provided an update on the latest developments undertaken by IMO in addressing safety of passengers' ships engaged in domestic services. The seminar also highlighted the need to develop a structured approach in the form of fact finding and scoping studies. In addition to the seminar, IMO held a one-day training course to teach participants how to conduct a Hazard identification (HAZID) exercise as well as learn more on the use of Formal Safety Assessment processes. more...
Training the auditors
The auditing of IMO Member States
to assess how effectively they administer and implement key IMO instruments
becomes mandatory on 1 January 2016. As part of the preparation for that
process, the first training course for audit team leaders under the IMO Member State Audit Scheme is now being held at IMO Headquarters (26-30 October).
The training
has been designed to further develop specific skills in audit planning, audit team and auditee management,
effective in-audit communication, audit reporting and assessment of a
corrective action plan. Experienced auditors from 16 IMO Member States* are
participating, along with five members of IMO’s own Member State Audit
and Implementation Support team. Up to 25 Member State audits per year are
expected under the mandatory scheme. more...
to assess how effectively they administer and implement key IMO instruments
becomes mandatory on 1 January 2016. As part of the preparation for that
process, the first training course for audit team leaders under the IMO Member State Audit Scheme is now being held at IMO Headquarters (26-30 October).
The training
has been designed to further develop specific skills in audit planning, audit team and auditee management,
effective in-audit communication, audit reporting and assessment of a
corrective action plan. Experienced auditors from 16 IMO Member States* are
participating, along with five members of IMO’s own Member State Audit
and Implementation Support team. Up to 25 Member State audits per year are
expected under the mandatory scheme. more...
IMO at Safer Seas conference
Maritime safety and security are on the agenda at the Safer Seas
conference in Brest, France (26-30 October), where IMO’s Frederick Kenney has
provided an overview of international regulations – contributing to discussions
on piracy, shipping in the polar regions and developments in the increasing
scale and technical sophistication of cargo, container and passenger ships.
Harmonising flag and port State efforts in the Pacific
A regional workshop in the Pacific is focusing on ways to strengthen cooperation between States and move towards a harmonized system for flag State implementation and port State control. A total of 24 participants representing 13 Pacific Island Countries and Territories and New Zealand are meeting in Suva, Fiji (26-29 October) to determine the terms of reference for a proposed Memorandum of Understanding on flag State implementation and port State control in the Pacific region. more...
Legislative consultations
Ratification and implementation of international instruments requires a great deal of preparation at the national level, from both a technical and a legislative perspective. An important part of IMO’s engagement with its Member States is to provide assistance with that process. Today (23 October) a delegation from the Mexican Congress met representatives from IMO’s Legal Office to discuss the ratification process for several IMO instruments. more...
Sign up for open online course on marine litter
IMO, as one of the co-leads for sea-based litter in the Global Partnership on Marine Litter, has contributed to the development of the first so-called Massive Open Online Course on marine litter. This free course (either a two-week or eight-week track) provides lectures, examples and case studies that will inspire leadership at all levels. Sign up here for 26 october start. more...
Information is power
With information and communication technology (ICT) playing such a vital role in the modern world, the United Nations system continually assesses how it uses ICT to best advantage in contributing to its own institutional efficiencies and helping to meet its external objectives. It does this through the ICT Network of its Chief Executives Board, which is meeting this week (21-23 October) at UNHQ in New York. more...